Turin, Italy – Simon Bolelli and Fabio Fognini notched a four-set victory over Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig to give Italy the lead over Croatia in their first-round Davis Cup tie.
Bolelli and Fognini rallied for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (13-11) triumph, lifting the Italians to a 2-1 edge in the best-of-five matchup.
Andreas Seppi, an opening singles winner Friday, will have the first chance to send Italy into the quarterfinals on Sunday. He'll face Cilic in the first reverse singles match, while Fognini is slated to play a potential fifth and deciding rubber against Dodig.
Cilic won the opening point for Croatia on Friday with a five-set triumph over Paolo Lorenzi, who played singles in place of Fognini on Friday. Seppi beat Dodig in four sets on Friday to square the tie at 1-1.
Croatia is 2-0 all-time versus Italy, with their last meeting coming in Dubrovnik in 2008.
Both Croatia and Italy own one Davis Cup title apiece.
The Croatia-Italy winner will meet the Spain-Canada victor in the quarterfinals in April.
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