Ivo Karlovic teamed up with Ivan Dodig to win the doubles as 2005 champions Croatia took a 2-1 lead over Japan in their Davis Cup tennis World Group first round tie on Saturday.
The country's number three and four coasted to a 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Tatsuma Ito and Yuichi Sugita in the best-of-five contest on the indoor hard court in the western Japanese city of Miki.
On Friday, Japanese number two Go Soeda caused a stir when he stormed back from two sets down to beat Dodig 6-7 (3/7), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 in an opener that lasted four hours and five minutes.
But Karlovic came to his side's rescue, firing down 18 aces on his way to a straightforward 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Australian Open quarter-finalist Kei Nishikori.
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