August 8, 2019 – Croatian tennis player Marin Čilić topped John Millman in the Canadian Open round of 32, thus equalizing his best result at the tournament in 2011.
Marin Čilić (16th on the ATP ranking) advanced to the 3rd round of the ATP Masters 1000 Tournament in Montreal after he celebrated 6:3, 6:6 against Australian John Millman (65th on the ATP ranking) after 75 minutes of play, reports Gol.hr.
It was the second match between the 30-year-old Croatian tennis player and his Australian opponent and the second victory for Čilić, who did not let the 20-minute rain break disturb his game when he led 6:3, 4:2.
After losing his serve in the third game, Čilić immediately returned in the next game and dominated the court. Another break in the eighth game brought him the first set, and he gained the advantage in the second set right at the start and was close to securing the 3rd round until the match was interrupted by rain.
After a 20-minute break, Millman held his serve, but with losing one point in the tenth game, Čilić served for the win.
Marin’s first serve percentage was 67%, leaving Millman with only one opportunity to break, which the Australian also realized. When Čilić put the first serve in, he won 81% of the points, had a second serve percentage of 50%, and took advantage of four break opportunities. The match ended with seven aces and no double faults.
This is only Čilić’s fourth appearance at the Canadian Open when Montreal is the host, and with the victory over Millman, he equalized his best result from 2011, when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the 3rd round.
To qualify for the quarterfinal, Čilić will play against the 2nd-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem. Rain was announced in Montreal on Wednesday, which could significantly disrupt Thursday’s program.
Borna Ćorić was not as lucky in the Canadian Open, losing to Adrian Mannarino in the round of 32 on Wednesday. Donna Vekić also lost in the round of 32 in the WTA Rogers Cup in Toronto to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
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