ZADAR, Croatia -- Marin Cilic held his nerve to beat big-hitting Lucas Pouille 6-1, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 and draw Croatia level against France at 1-1 in their Davis Cup semifinal on Friday.Earlier, Richard Gasquet won the opening tie against Borna Coric in straight sets to heap the pressure on the big-serving Cilic.But the 2014 U.S. Open champion fended off the threat from the 22-year-old Pouille, who is considered one of the rising stars of tennis.Cilic was serving for the second set at 6-5 and 40-0 up but made two big unforced errors on his forehand as Pouille broke back to force a tiebreaker, which Cilic eventually clinched with an ace after wasting set points.Pouille, a U.S. Open quarterfinalist last month, made an early break and then held for 3-1 on his way to comfortably winning the third set.But Cilic tk Pouilles first service game of the fourth set and then led 4-2 before saving two break points in the seventh game and then hitting two aces to win it and move 5-2 up.Cilic clinched victory in the next game on his first match point when Pouille double-faulted.I felt the intensity of the match especially in the first two sets, Cilic said. Lucas wasnt t bad in the opening two sets but I managed to push him back and felt I was hitting my ground strokes well from the baseline.But the moment I lost a little bit of focus he was there and I had to work hard to stay in control of the match. I had to get my rhythm back at the beginning of the fourth set and getting that break early on was crucial.France started brightly and quietened the home fans at the Kresimir Cosic Hall in Zadar.Gasquet, who found out he would play in singles after Gael Monfils left the injury-hit France team on Wednesday, was in complete control against Coric and prevailed 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-1, limiting his mistakes to just 13 unforced errors.The 17th-ranked Frenchman, whose previous match ended in a straight sets loss to Kyle Edmund in the first round at the U.S Open first round, said winning the second set tiebreak was the key to the match.After Coric failed to serve out the second set, Gasquet erased a 3-1 deficit in the tiebreak. Down 6-3, Coric saved two set points but buried a backhand into the net and Gasquet tk a two-set lead.I won, thats the most important. Its Davis Cup, its never easy, Gasquet said. Three sets to zero, its a great result for me. It was important for me to make him run.Gasquet improved his singles record to 12-8. France is without Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who have both been ruled out by knee problems.France has the clear advantage in Saturdays doubles, with Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert -- the top-ranked doubles players in the world -- up against Ivan Dodig and Marin Draganja, although Cilic hinted he could step up at the last minute against the French pair.Tomorrow morning we will decide if I am going to play in the doubles or not, Cilic said. I feel well, I am not overly exhausted.In reverse singles Sunday, Gasquet faces Cilic and Pouille takes on the 19-year-old Coric.The winner plays Britain or Argentina in the final.Marshawn Lynch Jersey . 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Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization.MADRID -- Life without Kevin Durant began for the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 142-137 overtime loss to Real Madrid in its first preseason game in Spain on Monday.Thunders revamped team was in control for the first three quarters but allowed the nine-time Euroleague champion to rally for the victory in front of a raucous local crowd in the Spanish capital.Russell Westbrk, newcomer Victor Oladipo and forward Enes Kanter led the way for the Thunder in the teams first game since Durants departure.Westbrk had 18 points from 22 minutes, Oladipo added 34 points and five assists from 33 minutes and Kanter had 29 points and 10 rebounds from 33 minutes.Real Madrid trailed by as much as 22 points but was able to send the game into overtime with a three-pointer by Sergio Llull at the buzzer, then pulled away in the final minute of overtime. Llull had five of the 20 threes scored by the hosts. Guard Jaycee Carroll led Madrid with 24 points, two more than Llull.The first half we played a really gd game, we played with that identity that we were lking to create, Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. But clearly our defense in the second half was not where it needed to be. But we got a chance to play a lot of young guys, a lot of new guys. I feel like this is going to be a great opportunity for our team to really lk at this game and really grow from it.The Thunder made their fourth Western Conference finals appearance in six years last season but Durant, who played eight seasons in Oklahoma, left in July to join the Golden State Warriors as a free agent. Serge Ibaka also departed in a trade to the Orlando Magic on draft night, leaving Westbrk in charge of leading a group of new faces.We definitely have a lot of new faces. We have some things to learn, obviously, some different thinks to pick up on, but we will get there. Right now its preseason, we are trying to make sure we are clicking when the regular season starts, Westbrk said. I thought we did a gd job tonight, trying to figure out whats best for us to move forward.dddddddddddd Weve got some things to learn, but Im lking forward to gd things out of our team.Westbrk played only in the first and third quarters and finished 7 for 14 from the field.Oladipo seemed to fit in nicely in his new team, doing a gd job controlling the game along with Westbrk.He was one of the players traded for Ibaka, along with forward Ersan Ilyasova and draft pick Domantas Sabonis, a move intended to improve the teams depth and shore up its inconsistent shting guard position. Oladipo finished 14 for 24 from the field.Just to be here in general is a great opportunity for me, the 24-year-old Oladipo said. Im truly thankful to be here and to be able to wear this jersey. Im going to make the most of this situation and the opportunity. Ive still got a lot of rm to grow, a lot of rm to get better. It was only the first game of the year, so a lot of rm to improve and Im lking forward to doing that.The Thunder arrived in Spain with coach Donovan saying the overseas trip would be crucial to help his new group of players bond ahead of the new season.In addition to playing Real Madrid, the Thunder will also face 18-time Spanish League champion and two-time Euroleague champion FC Barcelona Lassa on Wednesday in Barcelona.The Thunder then return to the U.S. to play four preseason games in October. They start their season at the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 26.Durant will be back in Oklahoma City with Golden States jersey on Feb. 11.Also part of NBA Global Games 2016, the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans will face each other in preseason games in Shanghai and Beijing on Oct. 9 and Oct. 12.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoni ' ' '