2011 Open 13: Marin Cilic advances as Ivan Ljubicic faces upset
Marin Cilic of Croatia, made his way into the final eight at the 2011 Open 13 in Marseille on Thursday after he successively dismissed German Philipp Petzschner in straight, extremely close sets. Playing the German for the third time in his career, Cilic
took less than two hours, as he extended his winning streak against Petzschner to three matches.
Serving in the opener, both players battled each other in a neck to neck run, matching each other’s service winning percentage. Not only did the both manage to save two of three break points, but they also broke each other’s serve once. A ruthless tooth
and nail battle pushed the first set into a tie-breaker.
It was in the tiebreaker that the hard hitting Croat had an edge, as he served four of a total of six aces in the tie-breaker. Cilic was able to clinch an early lead, which he then maintained to secure a 7-3 win for himself.
Leading the score 1-0, Cilic broke Petzschner’s confidence, as he had the added advantage of having never been beaten by the German, Cilic was able to dominate in the second set, as he cashed in on Petzschner’s three double faults and registering an acceptable
70 per cent winning percentage on serve, as opposed to Petzschner’s meagre 58 per cent. Cilic was able to take the lead, as he saved 100 per cent break points and successfully converted 1 of 3 break opportunities. Cilic was able to go 2-0 in the set score
clinching a 6-3 win in the second set.
During the match, Cilic struck six aces to Petzschner’s one and lost only 24 of 73 points on service to ensure his survival in the event. Moving into the final eight, Cilic will now play the Czech Tomas Berdych.
While Cilic moves into the final eight, his compatriot Ivan Ljubicic found out that luck was not on his side. Seeded fifth in the event, Ljubicic became the second seed casualty of the event as he met and lost to the rising Russian, Dmitry Tursunov.
Meeting each other for the third time, Tursunov was able to go 2-1 in the head to head against the Croat, as he secured a straight sets win for himself. Battling with the Croat in the first set, Tursunov survived Ljubicic’s resounding total of nine aces,
as he pushed the set into a tie-breaker. By bringing out the aces, Tursunov was able to secure a lead in the tie-breaker winning it 7-4 eventually.
Standing at a 1-0 lead in the set score, Tursunov was quick to convert one of the break opportunities to his advantage, as he secured a 6-3 win for himself in the second set.
Tursunov becomes the only other unseeded player to move into the quarter-finals to be played this week. The Russian will now face the Austrian ace Jurgen Melzer in the quarter-finals.
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