Alexandr Dolgopolov ousts Marin Cilic to take the crown – Studena Croatia Open 2011
World number 21, Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, finally bags his first championships title on Sunday after defeating the Croatia’s number one, Marin Cilic, in the final of Studena Croatia Open.
The enthralling contest took place at the clay courts of the International Tennis Center in Umag, Croatia, and ended in to the dismay of the local crowd, as the home favourite Cilic got beaten in three sets. Seeded at number two
in the tournament, Dolgopolov cruised through the matchup to come out as the winner at 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, to claim the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 championship title.
Fourth seeded Cilic hung in the game for two hours and fourteen minutes before he got dispensed out by the belligerent Ukrainian in the third set. After splitting the opening two sets among them, Dolgopolov raced through the final
set to clinch the first singles title of his career at Umag.
“I feel great after winning my first title,” the 22-year-old Ukrainian said after bagging the title, “I hope more victories are to come. It was really a tough match. I got nervous in the third set, but I am happy I was able to
win. This is a big win for me. I am really happy with what I achieved.”
It was a low serve game, with both men delivering their serve below 50 per cent throughout. Dolgopolov brilliantly secured 28 out of 32 first serve points in the matchup and took full advantage of the five costly double faults
en route to victory. The Ukrainian was off to a flying start in the opening set and broke Cilic’s serve in the very first game of the match to lead 2-0 early. The Croatian couldn’t recover from the early damage in the first set and eventually submitted at
4-6 to fall back 0-1 in the contest.
The fourth seeded Croatian backfired at his opponent in the following set and secured 55 per cent of the total points being played to bag the second set at 6-3. An action-packed final set was witnessed, with Dolgopolov again breaking
in the first game to lead 3-0 this time. Cilic broke in the fifth game to fritter away his opponent’s advantage in the set but the aggressive Dolgopolov stung in his third serve break of the day and then served out of the match at 6-3.
Cilic was the first Croatian to reach the final at Umag since Goran Prpic defeated his fellow compatriot Goran Ivanisevic way back in 1990.
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