Fe der er wears down Cilic in ATP Finals
Advances from group stage with 30 record for the 10th time
Roger Federer condemned Marin Cilic to more frustration in London as he repeated his Wimbledon heroics against the Croatian with a 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-1 victory in the ATP Finals on Thursday.
Just four months ago and only a few miles across south London, Federer was celebrating his record eighth Wimbledon title after crushing Cilic in a brutally one-sided final.
Cilic had been hampered by a blistered foot and the Croat was reduced to tears during the match as his predicament sunk in. In their first meeting since that All England Club showdown, Federer haunted Cilic once again as he fought back at the O2 Arena.
Having beaten Jack Sock and Alexander Zverev in his first two matches, Federer was already guaranteed to qualify as the winner of the Boris Becker group, but he didn’t take it easy against Cilic.
By extending his current winning streak to 13 matches, the 36-year-old advanced from the Tour Finals group stage with an unblemished 3-0 record for the 10th time in his glittering career.
With Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka all absent due to injury and world number one Rafael Nadal withdrawing after his first match due to a knee problem, Federer appears to have a clear path to his seventh triumph in the season-ending event.
“It was a tough match. I was in trouble, a set and a break point down, but I found a way out of it and I’m happy to be playing this way,” Federer said.
“It’s nice to play tennis this freely. It gives me a great idea how I want to be on Saturday. I’ m looking forward to facing (David) Goffin or (Dominic) Thiem.”