ERST LESEN! » year-old Coric is becoming a reliable

OMAHA, Neb. -- Michael Phelps wasnt about to lose his last race in the United States.With his gangly arms cutting through the water, Phelps dazzled the home fans one last time.Phelps made it three-for-three at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, rallying on the return lap to win the 100-meter butterfly Saturday night.In what was billed as the farewell race in his home country, Phelps competed in lane seven after a sluggish swim in the semifinals. As usual, it took him a lap to really get going, making the turn in fourth place.But Phelps powered to the front, as hes done so many times.Even with a long glide to the wall, he finished in 51.00 seconds.When Phelps saw the 1 beside his name, he pounded the water and pointed toward his family -- including 7-week-old son Boomer -- up in the stands. Hell now get a chance to win his fourth straight gold in the 100 fly at Rio.When his longtime coach, Bob Bowman, asked for a game plan before the race, Phelps kept it simple.I dont want to lose my last race on American soil, he said.Katie Ledecky and Maya DiRado also won their third individual events on the next-to-last night of the trials, while Nathan Adrian made up for the disappointment of four years ago by winning the 50 freestyle.For Ledecky, its been the dominating performance everyone expected, this one a nearly 10-second victory in the 800 freestyle.For DiRado, its been a huge surprise, the first-time Olympian setting herself up to make quite a splash before she retires at age 23.A late bloomer who already lined up a job as a business analyst in Atlanta, she followed her victories in the 200 and 400 individual medley by knocking off defending Olympic champion Missy Franklin in the 200 backstroke.Franklin finished second to at least ensure shell get a chance to go for another gold in Rio.Phelps, of course, is also planning to retire -- for the second time -- as soon as his fifth Olympics are over. At age 31, he cruised through Omaha with victories in both butterfly races as well as the 200 individual medley.Assuming he is on all three mens relays in Rio, a virtual lock, hell get a chance to add six more medals to his already massive collection of 18 golds and 22 medals overall.The second Olympic spot in the 100 fly went to Tom Shields, who touched in 51.20 to barely beat out Seth Stubblefield (51.24).We did everything that we wanted to do, Phelps said.Well, not quite. Hell need to go even faster in Rio.A 51.0 is OK, he said, but its going to take more than that to win a gold medal.One night after competing in the 100 free, the 19-year-old Ledecky didnt have quite enough in the tank to challenge her own world record. She finished in 8 minutes, 10.32 seconds, far off the mark of 8:06.68 she set in January at a meet in Austin, Texas.The swimmer who surprisingly captured gold in the 800 free four years ago will go into Rio as one of the biggest favorites in any sport. Leah Smith took the second Olympics spot in 8:20.18 -- nearly half a lap behind Ledecky.Ledecky also posted Omaha wins in the 200 and 400 free, which means shell have three individual events and a relay at the Olympics. The only thing that didnt go her way: a seventh-place finish in the 100 free, an event she only recently started focusing on in hopes of landing a second relay race.Ledecky will be busy enough as it is.Shes going to tear it up, Phelps predicted. She always does.DiRado was nearly a body length ahead of Franklin in the 200 back with a winning time of 2:06.90.This is a dream, DiRado said.Franklin, a big disappointment at the trials but still set to swim three events in Rio, finished in 2:07.89 to hold off Lisa Bratton for the second berth.I got a spot and thats all that I needed to do, Franklin said. Theres so much room for improvement.Franklin claimed her second individual event in Rio, having also taken the runner-up spot in the 200 freestyle. Shell also swim the 4x200 free relay, a far cry from her grueling seven-event program at London four years ago.One of the things Ive been trying to do this whole year is not compare myself to where I was in 2012, she said. Im here to be the best of who I am right now.Adrian surprisingly failed to qualify in the 50 free at the 2012 trials, though he did go on to capture Olympic gold in the 100 free at London.This time, Adrian swept the sprint events. In a furious dash from one end of the pool to the other, he touched ahead of Anthony Ervin in 21.51 seconds. Ervin claimed the second spot for Rio -- one-hundredth of a second behind the winner.Its an honor to come out of that field on top, Adrian said. Looking ahead to his Rio double, he added, Its not going to be easy.Two-time Olympian Cullen Jones wont be heading to Rio. The silver medalist from London finished third at 21.75, missing a spot on the U.S. team.At age 32, it mightve been Jones last realistic shot at the Olympics. He was the final man to climb out of the pool, soaking up the moment for as long as possible.Then again, age hasnt been a hindrance to Ervin.The 35-year-old is the oldest swimmer at the trials, but hes heading to the Olympics for the third time.Im enjoying it more than 2000, Ervin said, remembering his first Olympics as a 19-year-old. That seems so long ago.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . Paul George Shoes Deals . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. 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PORTLAND, Ore. -- The odds stacked against his underdog side, Croatian captain Zeljko Krajan was brimming with confidence Sunday morning before the reverse singles match in the Davis Cup quarterfinal tie against United States.Marin Cilic and Borna Coric backed up their captains belief in a stirring rally, winning matches to give Croatia a 3-2 comeback victory at the Tualatin Hills hard courts.Today, I knew they were going to bring the quality, Krajan said.Cilic got in started, beating John Isner 7-6 (11-9), 6-3, 6-4. Coric then topped Jack Sock 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.The U.S. lost for the fourth time in 161 tries when leading 2-0 lead in a Davis Cup tie.After the United States swept the singles matches Friday, Cilic and Ivan Dodig kept Croatia alive Saturday with a four-set victory over twins Bob and Mike Bryan in doubles.Its really unbelievable, Krajan said. I would say shocked from this win. Looking back on Friday and being 2-love down and then playing against the Bryans yesterday, it didnt look very positive for us.Croatia will host France -- a 3-1 winner at the Czech Republic -- in the World Group semifinals Sept. 16-18. Croatia reached the semifinals for the first time since 2009. It won its only Davis Cup title in 2005.In the other semifinal, defending champion Britain will host Argentina.Cilic set the tone for the comeback against Isner, a decision that was closer than the score indicated. Cilic won a marathon tiebreaker in the opening set, then broke Isners serve once in the next two sets to pull out the win.The opening set was riveting. Isner was hot, allowing Cilic to win only one point during his first 25 serves. But the American was unable to break Cilic, forcing a tiebreaker. Cilic won a couple points off Isners serve late in the tiebreaker to pull out an 11-9 win, setting off a torrent of emotion along the Croatia sideline.That was definitely a tough task, but I stayed in there mentally, Cilic said. I was very, very focused.Isner was clearly disappointed he didnt get the jump on Cilic.The firrst set was critical.dddddddddddd Felt like I definitely was the better player in the first set. Didnt get paid off, but thats on me. He came up with the goods when he needed it. That gave him a lot of confidence, I think, Isner said.U.S. captain Jim Courier disagreed that momentum swayed in Croatias favor after Cilic pulled out the first set.Thats not the way we look at it. First sets can be critical ... these matches are won on small margins. There are a couple points that go our way, and were sitting here with a smile on our face instead of a little disappointment, Courier said.Unlike Fridays first singles match, when Cilic lost after leading Sock by two sets, the worlds No. 12-ranked player finished off Isner by breaking him in the ninth game to pull out a 6-4 win.Cilic is 6-0 against Isner.The 19-year-old Coric is becoming a reliable closer for Croatia. It was the second time this year Coric won a fifth and deciding match to win a Davis Cup tie.I have to be honest. I like that kind of situation, Coric said. I like it more than playing on Court 27 somewhere, somewhere far away from the crowd. I just like the big stage more, when its more important.After splitting the first two sets against Sock, Coric won the final two sets by breaking the Americans serves four times. Corics performance was decidedly stronger than his three-set loss to Isner on Friday.I was much more relaxed, Coric said. I was hitting the ball, going for the points. I just wasnt waiting for him to miss, because I knew I cannot play like that because hes going to kill me with the forehand.Sock, who beat Cilic in a five-setter Friday, was upbeat despite dropping the finale.Obviously, I had chances and opportunities that I didnt convert. Thats tennis. Some days its firing and some days theyre missing a little bit. He played a great match, Sock said.Croatia is 4-0 in Davis Cup ties against the United States. ' ' '