After two tiebreaks against Romanian player Marius Copil, Marin Čilić easily overcame the young Canadian sensation Felix Auger Aliassime and advanced to the quarter-final of the challenging ATP 500 tournament in Washington D.C. - the Washington Open.
It is only the third time in this otherwise poor season that Marin Čilić has connected two victories in the same tournament. Thus, the Australian Open and Madrid join the Washington Open, where Čilić has been a semi-finalist in his last two appearances long ago (2015 and 2010), reports 24 Sata on August 2, 2019.
We can only hope this is an indication of better days for the Croatian tennis star, who delighted his fans by wearing a smile across his face for the first time in a long time.
After two tiebreaks against Marius Copil, Čilić had no problem advancing over the young Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime (6-3, 6-4), who has been a sensation in the tennis world this year. Recall, Auger Aliassime advanced to 21st on the ATP ranking, almost reaching Čilić! He is currently the 22nd best in the world, and according to the ranking, the biggest win of Croatia’s second-best tennis player this year. So far, Čilić also defeated Fernando Verdasco in Melbourne, then the 28th best player in the world.
Furthermore, this only Čilić’s second quarterfinal in 2019. Recall, he had to give up his first in Madrid due to food poisoning.
Čilić and Auger Aliassime met for the first time in the round of 16 on Thursday in Washington, D.C. Čilić already broke his opponent in the first game of the match, though he went on to save three break points from the 18-year-old Canadian.
Auger Aliassime was more dangerous in the second set where he won two break points and saved a game point by Čilić.
However, Čilić was calm and consistent, though he achieved a weak 55 percent on his first serve and also racked up nine aces less than against Copil (4-13).
If better days are indeed ahead for Čilić will be tested already in the quarter-final against Daniil Medvedev, a player he has yet to meet. The Russian topped Frances Tiafoe (6-2, 7-5) in the round of 16.
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