Marin Cilic downs Marcos Baghdatis to reach round three – Rogers Cup 2012
Seeded 10th in the event, Marin Cilic eased past the Cypriot number one, Marcos Baghdatis, in straight sets at the Rogers Cup 2012 on Wednesday. He nudged up a 7-5, 6-3 victory against the world number 45 to power into the round of 16 at this
Masters 1000 event taking place in Rexall Centre.
The Croatian seed proved his class after dumping Baghdatis in their fourth match-up. After earning the success in one hour and 21 minutes, Cilic not only avenged his loss at the Cincinnati Masters event two years ago but also extended lead in the FedEx ATP
(Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head series by 3-1 against the 27-year-old.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina-born Cilic made a sloppy start at this Emirates Airline US Open Series event. He suffered the first blow in the third game and went 1-2 down. However, Cilic quickly recovered in the very next game and then held his remaining serves
without encountering any resistance. He got the breakthrough in the last game and consequently clicked the opener with a 7-5 win.
Ranked 15th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Cilic kept momentum running into the second set. He got the critical break in the second game and leaped to a 3-0 lead. Regardless of losing his edge in the seventh game, the Croat
cashed in another break chance in the very next game. He then served out the set with a 6-3 score line.
On the whole, Cilic withstood 10 aces hammered by the Cypriot. He manipulated a slightly higher first serve share of 61 per cent as opposed to his rival’s 60 per cent and acceptably marked 28 out of 39 points on it.
Up next for the Monaco resident is the fifth seeded Janko Tipsarevic who trounced Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets to set up this battle.
The Olympics champion, Andy Murray, also stole the show later that day. He notched up a 6-1, 6-3 victory against the Italian qualifier, Flavio Cipolla, with a breadstick. The British top ranked star easily kept his entire serves and broke Cipolla’s serve
four times to advance.
Tags: