Marin Cilic ousts Alexandr Dolgopolov in the semi-finals – VEGETA Croatia Open 2012
Second seeded Marin Cilic took down the Ukrainian number one, Alexandr Dolgopolov, in straight sets at the VEGETA Croatia Open 2012 on Saturday. He juggled up a 7-5, 6-2 victory against the world number 19 to secure a place in the title-round at this ATP
(Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event taking place in Umag, Croatia.
The Croatian star displayed his best tennis to outsmart the third seed in one hour and 21 minutes. After earning the glory, Cilic not only avenged his loss at this event last season but also levelled the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series by 1-1 against the 23-year-old.
Cilic made a drastic entry at this outdoor clay court tournament and suffered the first blow in the third game to fall at 1-3. Despite recovering in the sixth game, the Croat lost his serve once more and trailed at 4-5. However, he not only snatched his
break back but got the breakthrough in the last game, subsequently sealing the opener by winning seven games to five.
Ranked 15th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Cilic perfected his game in the following set. He earned the desiderated break in the second game and leaped to a 3-0 lead. The Croat held his remaining serves through powerful
shots from his box of tricks and capitalised on another break chance in the last game, eventually registering a 6-2 success.
All in all, the Monte Carlo resident produced a lower first serve share of 44 per cent as opposed to his rival’s 45 per cent but impressively availed 17 out of 26 points on it. He failed to block both breakpoints he came across but capitalised on five out
of nine break chances to pocket the match.
Cilic will square off against the fourth seed, Marcel Granollers, who stunned his top seeded compatriot, Fernando Verdasco, in three sets to book this spot. Granollers required two hours and 52 minutes to outgun the former world number five with a 6-2, 6-7(5),
6-1 victory. The world number 24 fired five aces and cashed in six out of 15 break chances to earn the glory.
Tags: