Juan Martin Del Potro cruises past Marin Cilic into the third round of Mutua Madrid Open
Argentinean Juan Martin Del Potro, ranked 32nd in the world, scored an easy victory against world number 19 Marin Cilic of Croatia, thrashing him in straight sets 6-3, 6-0 in the second round at the Mutua Madrid Open
in Madrid on Wednesday. Del Potro needed just an hour and four minutes to oust his opponent.
The Argentine took the lead from the start of the match as he broke Cilic in the opening game of the first set. Serving to stay in the set at 3-5, the Croatian faltered under pressure, losing the set 3-6.
Del Potro delivered 64 percent of the first serves and won 86 percent of the points on them in the opening set. In comparison, Cilic hit 50 percent of the first serves, converting 77 percent of them into points. Del Potro grabbed
23 percent of the first return points in the opening set. The right-handed capitalized on both break point opportunities he created in the first set.
The Argentinean was flawless in the second set as he broke his opponent three times, winning six straight games to grab the set 6-0.
Cilic had no answer to Del Potro’s huge serve. The 22-year-old fired a couple of aces and 69 percent of the first serves in the second set, winning an amazing 100 percent of the points on them. On the other hand, Cilic kept his
first serve percentage at 56 percent but his conversion rate was below average as he converted just 30 percent of the first serves into points in the second set. The Croatian failed to save three out of four break points he faced in the second set.
Del Potro faces world number 1 Rafael Nadal of Spain in the round of 16. The Spaniard beat world number 24 Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets 6-1, 6-3 in the second round.
Commenting on his next match against Nadal, Del Potro said, "I think it's the match we have all been waiting for in this tournament, since Estoril, they all kept saying that in the third round I was going to play Nadal and there
were a few days left but I do know that I would like to have Rafa as far away as possible from me, and various other players as well."
Del Potro and Nadal will be facing each other for the ninth time. The Argentinean trails Nadal 3-5 in the head-to-head record.
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