Slovakia loses Davis Cup final

Despite the heroic efforts of Dominik Hrbaty in the final of the Davis Cup, Slovakia lost to Croatia three matches to two. The 26-year-old Hrbaty on Sunday beat Ivan Ljubicic and forced a deciding fifth match. In the end doubles specialist Michal Mertinak ranked 165th was up against Mario Ancic, a 21-year-old Croat who won his first tournament this year. Mertinak dispelled notions of a totally anti-climactic fifth match by taking Ancic to a tie-break in the first set. Nevertheless, the final score of 3 sets to 0 secured the Davis Cup for the Croat team. It was the first appearance in the final of the Davis Cup for both sides.