Federer, participating in the draw of this Canadian ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event for the 11th year, brushed away both break points he faced during the contest and closed out the win 30 minutes before his 33rd birthday.
Cilic blinked only once, in the eighth game of the third set, to hand Federer the the lone break of their third-round duel. The 15th seed saved nine of ten break points, including six match points he faced serving at 4-5 in the second set.
"It's nice winning those kind of matches, because I also lost a bunch in my career," said Federer. "Especially this season I have lost some closer ones, especially in the stretch from Indian Wells, Miami, Monaco, Rome, Paris. So from that standpoint I'm very happy I came through tonight.
"I had 23 break points against Tsonga in Monaco, that's worse. So from that standpoint I've been there before.
"I thought Marin played really well, especially for longer periods," Federer added. "I'm happy I was able to find a way tonight."
Federer owns a 29-8 record at the Rogers Cup, which includes two trophies (2004, 2006) and runner-up finishes on two other occasions. The ATP Rankings No. 3 is edging closer to becoming the first player to notch 300 wins at the Masters 1000 level (297-88).
The 25-year-old Cilic, champion in Zagreb and Delray Beach this season, was making his sixth appearance at the Rogers Cup. Earlier this season, he made a career-best run at Wimbledon, falling to Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
In the final eight, Federer faces Spaniard David Ferrer, against whom he owns a 14-0 ATP Head to Head record.
"Ferrer is an unbelievable returner and has some of the best second-serve returns in the game," said Federer. "If I don't play well, he's one of those guys that you're not going to come through against."
The fifth-seeded Ferrer put an end to Ivan Dodig’s run, recovering from a slow start to defeat the Croatian 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Dodig, who upset top American John Isner in the first round, managed to convert just two of his 14 break point chances in the third-round match.
Ferrer, making his ninth appearance at the Rogers Cup, recorded back-to-back wins for the first time in Canada.
Date: 8th August 2014, Source: ATP
0 comments:
Post a Comment