Djokovic Routs U.S. Open Champ Cilic to Begin London Campaign
Two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic opened up his ATP Finals run with a 6-1, 6-1 win over 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic. Djokovic, who is also seeking to end the season at number one for the third-time in his career, improved his career record to 11-0 against the big-serving Croatian.
“Winning in straight sets helps a lot for the rest of the tournament,” said Djokovic. “But I’m going to try to win every match I play.”
The win also improves Djokovic’s indoor winning streak to 28, and he has yet to lose at the ATP Year-End finals in his career. He banished any hope Cilic had of upending him by breaking the Croat at 3-1 in the first set to take a commanding 4-1 lead. The break was one of three Djokovic got in the first set which allowed him to cruise to a 6-1 set win. In the second set, the Serb was even more dominant, winning each of Cilic’s service games as he rolled to another 6-1 set win.
The only hiccup came in the third game when Djokovic was broken by the U.S. Open champion.
“I give myself a lot of time to prepare for these events, for indoor tournaments. I enjoy them,” said Djokovic. “Considering how long the season is, everybody is mentally, physically, emotionally tired and exhausted. But this is where you have to find your last drop of strength and motivation to finish off the year in style.”
Cilic committed 22 unforced errors and was just unable to match the efficiency and energy of Djokovic.
“I felt that Novak played really, really solid today,” said Cilic. “I felt a little bit uncomfortable on the court and rusty … I felt that I was not hitting it clean. That’s always difficult, especially against Novak, to get away with a win when you’re not playing so good.”
Djokovic will get Stan Wawrinka in his next round-robin match, while Cilic will meet Tomas Berdych.
