Cilic rallies past Isner at ATP Finals; Djokovic qualifies for semis
marin cilic john isner 2018 atp finals london
HIGHLIGHTS: Marin Cilic d. John Isner, 6-7, (2), 6-3, 6-4
Marin Cilic rallied from a set down to beat John Isner at the ATP Finals on Wednesday, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4, keeping alive his hopes of reaching the semifinals of the season-ending event for the first time.
After dropping a break-less first set in a tiebreak, Cilic upped his return game in the second set, earning double break point with Isner serving at 2-3. He earned his first break of the match a few games later for a 5-3 lead, and then swiftly held serve to level the match at a set apiece.
The third set began with three straight breaks—first Cilic broke, then Isner broke back, and then Cilic broke again—and the two held serve from there until Cilic had the two-hour, 14-minute victory.
“Obviously the first set was extremely tough,” Cilic said in his on-court interview. “I saved a few set points at 5-4 down, but then John played a great tie-break. I just had to stay patient and focused, and I think I played great tennis in the second and third sets. I got that momentum towards the end of the second set and started to feel the ball really well—on a few occasions I guessed right in the critical moments, and John made a few crucial double faults, but overall I’m really pleased with the win.”
Cilic, who hit 30 winners in the match, including 20 from his forehand side, had lost three of his last four meetings with Isner, including their only meeting this year in Miami, where Isner won his first ATP Masters 1000 title.
“I really enjoyed the atmosphere tonight,” Cilic added. “It’s always a joy to play here in London. I always look forward to coming back to this tournament and I can’t wait to play the next match in my group.”
The Croat is now 2-9 in his career at the ATP Finals, his only prior win coming against Kei Nishikori in a round robin match in 2016. More importantly, though, he’s now 1-1 in his round robin group this year and is still in the running for a spot in the semifinals. He’ll play Novak Djokovic on Friday.
“We had a great match in Paris a few weeks ago,” Cilic said of the Serb. “Novak’s playing really good tennis. I’ll have to keep playing well—my serve will be critical. I hope we have another great match.”
There’s already some good news for Djokovic. With Isner taking a set off of Cilic on Wednesday night, the Serb, who has won both of his round robin matches so far in straight sets, has officially qualified for the semifinals, the eighth time in 11 career ATP Finals appearances that he’s qualified for the semifinals. In five of the seven previous times he’s qualified for the semifinals here, he’s gone on to win the title.
This Week on Tennis Channel:
ATP Finals (Sun - Sun 11.11 - 11.18) - Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and the world's best collide in the season Finale. Live coverage begins on Tennis Channel Sunday at 7:00am EST.