Marin Cilic thrashes Matthew Ebden in the second round – AEGON Championships 2012
Sixth seed, Marin Cilic of Croatia, cruised to the round of eight, as he outplayed the world number 74, Matthew Ebden of Australia, in straight sets in the second round at the AEGON Championships on Wednesday. The Croatian dropped
just three games in the entire match, sealing the encounter 6-2, 6-1 in just an hour and three minutes.
Cilic did not even allow the Australian to settle down in the match, as he grabbed opening three games to race to a 3-0 lead. Serving to stay in the set at 2-5, Ebden failed to hold it once again and lost it 2-6.
The Croatian fired three aces and did not commit any double fault in the opening set. He put in 58 percent of the first serves and converted eight of the 11 of them into points. The right-hander was flawless on the second ones,
as he did not lose even a single point on them, winning all of the eight points. The Croatian also performed impressively on the replies to the Australian’s serves, clinching eight of the 16 first and five of the seven second return points.
Cilic started the second set in the same manner as he had begun in the first, breaking his opponent’s opening serve and consolidating on it to attain a 3-0 advantage. The Croatian went one step further this time, striking again
in the fourth and holding his following serve to race to a 5-0 lead. Ebden avoided some disappointment, as he opened his account by winning a game and reducing the trail to 1-5 but Cilic did not allow him to do more, closing it 6-1.
The Croatian smacked one ace and 54 percent of the first serves in the second set. He had a stunning first delivery conversion rate, as he bagged incredibly 12 of the 13 points on them. The 23-year-old evaded the only break threat
he faced and made the most of two of the eight chances he received of his own.
Cilic will either play Czech Republic’s Lukas Rosol or the 11th seed, Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, in the round of 16.
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