As Croatia prepares to host Argentina for the Davis Cup final in Zagreb over the weekend, they will be re-entering familiar territory. Not merely because they will be playing against a seeded team that has made it to the event final, on no less than four occasions. But also, because the last time Croatia reached the Davis Cup final, over a decade ago in 2005, they had more than just tilted at windmills. Back then, Croatia had narrowly edged out the Slovakia to get their first – and till now, only – win in the Davis Cup.

Rewinding back to that win 11 years ago, it took a monumental effort from Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic, specifically the latter, to come out fighting against the Slovakian team led by Dominik Hrbaty. Fast forward to now and a lot has changed in the Croatian side.

A healthy team balance

This time around, it is not a two-player Croatian team contesting the final, but a full strength, four-member team roster featuring Marin Cilic, Ivo Karlovic, Ivan Dodig and Franko Skugor. The Croatian skipper Zeljko Krajan looks to have made his choices wisely making sure the team composition is well-balanced with a good depth in singles and doubles, despite having had to substitute Skugor for Borna Coric, who’s still recuperating from an injury to his knee, right before the draw.

Coric’s injury was a huge blow to the Croatian aspiration, since it was the 20-year-old’s heroics that had got the team past Belgium and the USA in the initial stages of the World Group. But the decision to recall the 37-year-old Karlovic from Davis Cup retirement has been particularly calculative. As, in the 20th ranked Karlovic, who will be the oldest player to play a Davis Cup rubber since Australia’s Norman Brookes did so at the age of 43, in 1920, Croatia does have a potently viable option to exercise against the Argentinians. It is perhaps why, right after confirming that Karlovic would be included in the team, the Croatian skipper emphatically noted, “Our chances now look much better. I think we are the favourites.”

Dr Ivo to the rescue?

Karlovic, whose last Davis Cup appearance for Croatia was in 2012, was roped in with two aspects in mind. One, that his style of play would suit the hosts in the indoor hard courts of the Zagreb Arena. The other, that he has been in great form this year, which would thus ensure that the team benefits from having an in-form player in the squad. And, with an opening singles rubber looming against Juan Martin del Potro, Karlovic will need to be at his sharpest.

“It will be a difficult match,” he had observed after the draw was announced on Thursday, before going on to add, “He has done the unbelievable this year, how he played at the Olympics after his injuries. It will be a difficult match but I know that I will have my chances and I hope that I will be able to take them.”

While the Croatians count on Karlovic to shore up the team strength, they will want their top-seed – and the World No. 6 – Marin Cilic to give them a winning start, against Federico Delbonis.

Marin Cilic celebrates after a win. Image credit: Eduardo Munoz / Reuters

Ranked 35 places below the 2014 US Open champion, Delbonis cannot be considered a threat to Cilic. However, in an event where upsets are more common than one would anticipate, especially in such seemingly one-sided encounters, neither Cilic nor the Croatian team is taking the match-up lightly.

“I’m a favourite in that match against Federico but I still know that Federico is a great player. We know what both of us are capable of doing,” Cilic acknowledged during the unveiling of the draw, further continuing about how a positive result in their favour could affect the rubber between Karlovic and del Potro. “If I can get the win it’s going to be a little bit less pressure on Ivo and a little more pressure on Juan Martin.”

Marin Cilic is key

If the tie enters into the fifth day, Croatia will be hoping to strain Argentina’s fraught nerves to its advantage. Both teams might have had a similar margin of result in their respective semi-final, 3-2. But, while Croatia played – and lost – a dead fifth rubber in its semi-final against France, Leonardo Mayer got an inspired four-set win over Daniel Evans to give Argentina a place in the final.

From the vantage point of the final, the equation however changes completely with Argentina never having been able to convert its opportunities into decisiveness in the Davis Cup final. And it’s this change that Croatia will want to capitalise on. To bring about one last coup for 2016, ending it in a semblance of the year’s unpredictability. Even as it tries to overhaul its own established record, by becoming the only unseeded team to win the Davis Cup twice.