Cilic Leads Croatian Charge With Three-Set Win At The ATP Cup

Former World No. 3 Marin Cilic was in danger of falling victim to the upset bug on Saturday evening at the ATP Cup. But the 18-time tour-level titlist battled hard for his country, riding his experience to a 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 victory against Dennis Novak. 

Cilic, whose FedEx ATP Ranking of No. 39 is his lowest since October 2013, lost the first set. But the Croat relied on his serve to turn the tide against the World No. 108, winning all 10 of his service games in the final two sets. 

After two hours and 27 minutes, Cilic struck his 15th ace of the match, crushing an untouched delivery in the ad court down the T before turning to Croatia's Team Zone with his left fist in the air.

View Official Website, ATPCup.com

Novak received plenty of valuable instruction throughout the match from Austrian captain Thomas Muster, the former World No. 1. But once Cilic got into a rhythm of finding a way to take the first aggressive strike in rallies, Novak was unable to put the match on his racquet, especially during Cilic's service games.

Dominic Thiem, the World No. 4, will try to force a deciding doubles match for Austria. The 2019 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up will play World No. 28 Borna Coric, whom he has won three of four matches against. Thiem has won their three most recent meetings, with all four of their battles coming at ATP Masters 1000 events.

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2ZMClaW