In the first match, Kamil Majchrzak was set to play against veteran Marin Cilic, but he was replaced by the 20-year-old Kacper Zuk due to an injury. The youngster turned out to be a worthy opponent for Cilic, especially in the first set, but the Croat was able to handle the pressure and won the game 7-6(8), 6-4, reports Xinhua news agency.
Poland recovered from a slow start thanks to Hubert Hurkacz, who dominated Borna Coric 6-2, 6-2. In both sets the Pole found himself trailing early but fought back both times to seal the game comfortably. The massive Hurkacz's win came as somewhat of a surprise as just two days ago Coric had beaten world No. 4 Dominic Thiem.
However, it was Croatia who had the last word in the encounter. Hubert Hurkacz and Lukasz Kubot failed to contain Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic in the doubles. The favourites won 6-2, 6-1 to lead the Croats to their second triumph at the ATP Cup.
Poland have no chance to advance into the quarterfinals after two defeats, having lost their opening game 2-1 to Argentina.
The ATP Cup runs between January 3 to 12, with the group stage matches being played across three cities - Perth, Brisbane and Sydney - and the finals to be played in Sydney alone.
( With inputs from IANS )