Marin Cilic edges past Fabio Fognini into last eight – China Open 2011
Croatia’s number one, 23-year-old Marin Cilic went through a one hour and fifty four minutes battle to outplay the 39th ranked Italian, Fabio Fognini, in the second round of the China Open on Thursday afternoon.
Rated at number 25 in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Rankings, Cilic displayed his mental resilience to wrap up victory in three sets, 6-2, 6-7(1), 6-3, to drive Fognini out of the tournament after a stiff
contest.
The contest was staged on the outdoor hard courts of the Olympic Green Tennis Center, in Beijing, China, with the unseeded Croat exhibiting some brilliant power hitting to book a place in the quarter-final draw of the ATP World
Tour 500 event.
It was Cilic’s 36th victory in the running season and the second consecutive one against Fognini in singles encounters. The Croatian had already defeated Fognini in the semi-final clash in Umag, Croatia, earlier this
year and his Thursday’s victory gave him 2-1 lead over the Italian in head-to-head combats.
The aggressive Croat took the upper hand in the contest by pocketing the opening set with ease but his opponent made his way back in the game in the very next set. Fognini fought hard to seize the second set in a tie breaker round
but went through another terrible slump in the final set to let Cilic away with a much needed victory.
Cilic’s 54 per cent precise serve included eight thudding aces and he clinched 31 out of 38 first serve points in the matchup to come out as the winner. The Italian opponent bettered him with 36 out of 59 points but nine double
faults from his racquet at the most crucial moments of the match proved extremely taxing for him in the end.
Fognini converted all of his three break opportunities in the contest but had to suffer seven out of 13 break points from Cilic to finish on the losing side. He worked hard to grab the second set of the match but failed to carry
on his winning momentum in the final set and bestowed victory upon the Croat to finish his voyage at the China Open.
Cilic is up for the unseeded South African, Kevin Anderson, in his next matchup to battle for a place in the semi-finals of the China Open. Anderson had a tough competition against Albert Montanes of Spain in the second round,
eventually finishing in straight sets 7-6(3), 7-6(4), to book a date with Cilic in the quarter-final draw.
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