CALL IT ‘I DREAM OF EUGENIE NO MORE ON GRASS’
Third seeded Croatian falls to Argentine Pella in second round
LONDON: Wimbledon 2017 runner-up Marin Cilic, a favourite to go far in the tournament again this year, suffered a shock 3-6, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 defeat by Argentine Guido Pella in the second round.
The Croatian third seed began the day two sets up but 4-3 down on Pella’s serve in the third, following Wednesday evening’s halt for rain and found his opponent very much up for the fight.
Pella wrapped up the third set comfortably, then shaded an exciting fourth set that included two breaks of serve for each player with Pella taking command in the tiebreak to clinch it 7-3.
The deciding set went with serve until Pella clinched his first victory over a top-five player on his fourth match point after Cilic had already saved two in the 10th game and another when 30-40 down.
Pella, who has very limited experience on grass and had lost to Cilic in three sets at the 2015 US Open in their only previous meeting, was undoubtedly helped by Wednesday’s rain interruptions.
“Yesterday he was playing so, so good, hitting the ball so hard that I couldn’t do anything,” Pella said.
“So the rain helped me a lot. Today I played differently, tried to be more aggressive, he started to feel uncomfortable. I tried to hit the ball hard and fight for every ball and I think in the end that’s why I won.
Cilic, who won the Queen’s Club tournament 10 days ago, refused to blame the rain interruption.
“I was focused on my game, I wasn’t thinking of what comes next,” said the Croatian, who lost last year’s final to Roger Federer.
Stan Wawrinka’s woeful run at recent Grand Slams continued yesterday when the Swiss lost 7-6 (9-7), 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) in the Wimbledon second round against Italian journeyman Thomas Fabbiano.
Wawrinka, winner of three Grand Slam tournaments, trailed by two sets overnight, having squandered set points in the opener, but led 6-5 in the third when play resumed in muggy conditions.
He then had two set points in the tiebreak but missed both, spraying one backhand well wide, and the 29-year-old Fabbiano completed the best win of his career.
“I’m really disappointed to lose a match like yesterday and today. I think I was playing really well yesterday,” unseeded Wawrinka, who took out sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov in the first round, told reporters.
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal made it to the third round yesterday with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Mikhail Kukushkin.
Novak Djokovic also made it through to the third round with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 win over Horacio Zeballos of Argentina.
In the women’s draw, Eugenie Bouchard’s hopes of emulating her 2014 run to the final were hit for six by former professional cricket player Ashleigh Barty in the second round.
The Canadian, whose ranking has fallen to 188th from a careerhigh five in 2014, had to contest three qualifying matches just to make into the main draw.
The effort of winning four matches over the past week to get into round two appeared to have taken its toll on Bouchard as she could do little to stop 17th seed Barty storming back from 5-2 down in the second set to seal a 6-4 7-5 victory. — Agencies