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2/4/09 7:31 PM | Ricky Dimon
Marin Cilic takes care of Florent Serra in straight sets at the PBZ Zagreb Indoors on Wednesday evening. Next up for the No. 2 seed is a fellow Croat, the surprising Antonio Veic.
Marin Cilic d. Florent Serra 6-2, 7-5
Cilic gave the crowd what it came to see with an impressive first set in which he fired four aces and lost a mere five points in four service games. The 6'6'' Croat broke Serra twice to take the opening frame of play 6-2. The second set was much more of a struggle for Cilic, whose game really broke down. Nonetheless, he managed to get through it after giving back an early break with a poor service game at 3-2. The No. 2 seed regained the break at 5-5 when Serra netted a forehand volley on break point. Cilic, who finished with 13 aces, closed out the match in an hour and 22 minutes with two aces, a backhand winner, and a final forehand winner. Next up for Cilic is a quarterfinal clash with countryman Antonio Veic.
Antonio Veic d. Evgeny Korolev 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4
The 255th-ranked Veic pleasantly surprised the Croatian fans with a first-round upset of Guillermo Canas, and he pulled off an equally big shocker over Korolev on Wednesday evening. A single break of serve in the opening set allowed the 20-year-old Russian to take it 6-3, but Veic, also 20 years old, continued to fight hard in the second. The little-known Croat went up an early break, but gave it back as set two progressed to a tiebreaker. A back-and-forth 'breaker saw Veic get a quick mini-break before Korolev stole the mini-break advantage right back. Veic, however, got back on level terms and eventually pulled it out seven points to five to force a deciding third set. Much to the enjoyment of the crowd, Veic kept up the momentum early on in the third. He broke Korolev at 1-1 and held on to the advantage the rest of the way, although not without trouble. Veic went down 0-40, triple-break point, while serving for the match at 5-4, but he won the next five points to score the upset in two hours and 30 minutes.
Paul-Henri Mathieu d. Roko Karanusic 6-7(6), 6-1, 7-6(3)
Karanusic was a big underdog in front of his home fans against the fourth-seeded Mathieu in this first-round encounter, but he gave them plenty to cheer about, especially in the beginning. The first set went to a tiebreaker as the two players exchanged one break of serve each, and Karanusic pulled it out eight points to six. Mathieu turned the tide in set two as he raised his serving level considerably, while his opponent's serve completely collapsed. The Frenchman broke serve twice and saved all three of the break points he faced to dominate the second 6-1. Karanusic settled down in the third, which progressed in similar fashion to the first; one break of serve apiece en route to a decisive tiebreaker. In the end, however, Mathieu's experience was the difference he cruised through the 'breaker to set up a second-round meeting with Jan Hernych.
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