Cilic, Anderson romp through
TOP seed Marin Cilic made quick work of Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas yesterday, winning 6-3 6-2 to reach the second round of the Japan Open.
The towering Croatian, runner-up to Roger Federer at this year’s Wimbledon, took just 73 minutes to complete a one-sided victory against a player ranked 110 places below him.
World No 5 Cilic, a former US Open champion, rifled eight aces and totally dominated on serve on a speedy hardcourt surface that suits his power game.
“He’s a good player, an upcoming star of men’s tennis, who forced me to find my best level and a good rhythm,” Cilic said.
He won 24 of his 29 first service points and is looking to cement his place at the season-ending ATP Tour Finals in London.
“At the end I was pleased with the way I served and how I played,” Cilic, a semifinalist in Tokyo last year, said.
South African Kevin Anderson, who was beaten by Rafa Nadal in the US Open final last month, also advanced in straight sets, ousting Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-2 7-6.
Fifth seed Anderson cracked 17 aces as he set up a meeting with American Ryan Harrison, a 6-4 4-6 6-4 winner over teenage Japanese qualifier Yusuke Takahashi.
Elsewhere, controversial Australian Bernard Tomic recovered from a wobble to beat Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-3 3-6 6-3 in his first match since June, while Frenchman Adrian Mannarino dumped out another local favourite, Go Soeda, 7-5 7-6.
The Japan Open has been played since 1972 and its previous winners include a roll-call of the game’s greats, including Ken Rosewall, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Federer and Nadal.
Meanwhile, world No 1 Garbine Muguruza retired ill with a virus in the first round of the China Open yesterday and US Open winner Sloane Stephens went out in a shock defeat.
Spain’s Muguruza suggested in the build-up that she was not fully fit after a leg injury and she lost the first set 6-1 to unseeded Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic.
Muguruza, 23, the reigning Wimbledon champion, called a medical timeout at 2-0 down in the second set and then called it quits after having her pulse taken on the side of the court.
Stephens, meanwhile, tumbled out in the first round at the hands of qualifier Christina McHale.
The loss extends her poor run after sealing her first grand slam last month.
Last week, the 24-year-old lost to China’s Wang Qiang in the opening round of the Wuhan Open.