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Wimbledon Final 2017: Marin Cilic Beats Sam Querrey To Enter

Wimbledon Final 2017: Marin Cilic Beats Sam Querrey To Enter

Croatian Marin Cilic defeated 24th seed American Sam Querrey in the first semi-finals of the Wimbledon 2017 tournament to reach his first ever final at the prestigious grass court tournament. In two hours and 56 minutes, Cilic beat Querrey 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 to set up a match with either tennis legend Roger Federer or Tomas Berdych. The 28-year-old has reached his second major finals after he won the US Open in 2014. He is the second Croatian ever to reach the finals after Goran Ivanisevic in 2001. Both men are big serving and rely on aces to get past their opponents, having netted 100 aces each in the tournament when they came into the match today. Querrey had played out and won three successive five-set matches, and looked to force a fourth today before Cilic saw him off. It was the big serving game that got the better of Querrey for Cilic today. Cilic got 14 break points to Querrey’s three today, and this is what kept him ahead in the Centre Court match. The 29-year-old American saved ten break points and was two service holds away from winning the fourth set and taking the match into the tie-breaking set. Both sides held on pretty before loose shots from Querrey handed Cilic the third set to put him in the lead – a backhand error followed by a forehand net meant that Querrey would surrender the lead to the Croatian.

The last time the pair met in a Wimbledon was in 2012 when the match lasted over five hours, and went to Cilic 17-15 in the final tie-breaker, and it was only a patchy and tired performance from Querrey that meant the match did not extend into the tie-breaking set.

Sam was playing high-level tennis, especially in the first set,” said Cilic.

“I was 4-1 up in the tie-break and didn’t convert. After that I was better in the return games. I thought the level was really high.”

About the author

Aiman

Keenly interested in sports of all sorts, I am a physicist by training and curious about everything.