Israel stun Russia, Spain pegged back by Germany

By Iain Rogers

MADRID (Reuters) - Ivo Karlovic and Marin Cilic won five-set marathons at home to put Croatia 2-0 ahead of 32-time champions United States, while Israel stunned favoured Russia to also lead 2-0 in the Davis Cup quarter-finals on Friday.

Champions Spain were held to 1-1 by Germany in Marbella, and the Czech Republic and Argentina were tied after the opening two singles in their best of five tie.

Karlovic put hosts Croatia 1-0 up after coming back from two sets down to sink James Blake after three hours and 38 minutes in front of a partisan crowd in Porec.

"I was a bit nervous at the start, playing before the home crowd, but I became more relaxed as the match went on, and I managed to turn it around. This is surely one of the biggest matches of my career," Karlovic said.

Blake was unhappy with the home crowd's reception, saying some went too far even for a Davis Cup match.

"To boo our fans is something that I find unacceptable, to yell out while I'm serving, to clap when I miss a first serve and things like that on a pretty consistent basis seemed pretty hostile to me," Blake said.

Marin Cilic then capped off a perfect day for the hosts, beating a gallant Mardy Fish, who replaced injured Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick.

Israel are within sight of a first semi-final at a major sporting event, with Dudi Sela and Harel Levy emerging heroes in front of more than 10,000 fans in Tel Aviv, the biggest crowd to watch a tennis match in the country.