A not so great start for Croatia's best tennis player.
Croatia’s best tennis player Marin Čilić failed to compete in the ATP tournament finals in Pune, India, reports Index.hr on January 5, 2018.
It was an early exit for Croatia’s Marin Čilić in the ATP World Tour season opener, though he was ranked the top-seed of the tournament. Frenchman Gilles Simon (ATP - 89) defeated Čilić in the semifinals 1:6, 6:3, 6:2 after an hour and 51 minutes of play.
This was the seventh match between Čilić and Simon and the sixth win for the 33-year-old French tennis player, who Čilić managed to beat only in the round of 16 of the US Open in 2014 when he won his only Grand Slam title.
Čilić served well in the first set and won 11 out of 12 points off of his first serve. With a 5-0 lead in the first set, it looked like the Croat would easily take the game. Unfortunately, it was Simon who made an incredible comeback.
In the decisive set, Čilić missed the break in the first leg and then lost the service for the third time in the match. By the end of the duel, Simon did not allow any breaks, and after 111 minutes of play, he came to the 19th finals in his career.
Simon will play in Saturday's final against the winner of the duel between Frenchman Benoit Paire and South African Kevin Anderson.
