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3/15/09 12:02 AM | James Munoz
20-year-old Marin Cilic showed experience beyond his years as he moved on to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open for the first time with a 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-1 victory over Belgian Steve Darcis.
Cilic led 4-2 in the first set before Darcis staged a comeback. The Croat's power game was not enough to close out the first set, and he eventually fell in a tiebreak, losing it seven points to four.
The second set showed the maturity of Cilic’s game that has helped him to a career-high ranking of 19th and climbing. The confidence in his ground game, coupled with an imposing serve, were a lethal combination in the second and third sets, which Cilic won 6-2, 6-1.
Unwilling to rely solely on power, he mixed in terrific angles to the point where Darcis began to let some of the shots go. Cilic served 11 aces for the match and had numerous service winners, especially after the first set. He won 76% of his first-serve points and 67% of Darcis’ second-serve points.
Darcis fought as hard as he could, but once the big Croat began using heavy topspin on his crosscourt shots, the smaller Belgian was left helpless. Without the weapons to hurt his opponent after the first set, Darcis was left with few opportunities and resorted to a more aggressive game that ultimately failed.
With two hard-court titles already for the young Croat, Cilic is well on his way to furthering his reputation as a player to watch now. He has all the tools and now that he is finding ways to adjust on the court he will be just that much more dangerous in the future.
Next up for Cilic is 15th seed Tommy Robredo. They are tied at one match apiece, but Cilic won handily in their last encounter, a 6-3, 6-3 drubbing on the hard courts of Canada.
Below is the link to Cilic’s post-match interview.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoUk7CBSLFg
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