World No. 2 Roger Federer will challenge an out of form Marin Cilic in what will be a dead rubber at the ATP Finals in London on Thursday. Will the Fed Express notch up yet another win over Cilic to extend his undefeated run or will it be the Croatian who will be able to salvage some pride by beating the great Swiss?
19-time Grand Slam champion Federer may be ranked No. 2 in the ATP rankings, but there would be no denying the fact that 2017 has been a year to remember for the maestro. Right after his six-month injury layoff, the Basel native was back to winning ways as soon as he would have wanted by triumphing over his nemesis Rafael Nadal in what was a sensational victory in the Australian Open final.
Subsequently he went on to win a record breaking eighth Wimbledon crown and a series of other big titles including the Indian Wells, Miami and Shanghai Masters trophies. However, he did suffer a big setback during the North American hard-court leg of the tour when his back injury resurfaced, denying him the chance of winning a 3rd Grand Slam of the year. Federer lost to Alexander Zverev in the Montreal Masters semifinals, did not participate in Cincinnati and was beaten by Juan Martin Del Potro in the US Open quarters.
But, the 36-year-old quickly rebounded as he decided to rest his body for a month and when he returned to action he swept through titles in Shanghai and Basel. His victory in China was particularly sweet as it was his fifth consecutive win over his good friend Nadal – a first in his career. Upon his arrival in the British capital, Federer has continued with his dominant form as he has already secured his place in the event’s last 4 by winning both his matches.
On the other hand, 2014 US Open champ Cilic simply hasn’t been able to recover from his heartbreaking loss to Federer in the Wimbledon final. Cilic’s movement was hampered by a blister in what was the biggest match of his career and he was left in tears as Roger cruised through to a comfortable straight sets win.
Since that loss, few victories have come his way, leading to a huge drop in his confidence which has resulted in his lackluster performance in his first two matches in London. Even though, he had opportunities in both those matches he couldn’t take those chances, eventually becoming the first player to be eliminated from the tourney. Still, he would want to go on a high, but that will not be so easy against Federer.
Head-to-head: For Cilic victories against Federer have always been in short supply as the former World No. 1 has a 7-1 advantage over him in that department. In fact, his only triumph over the great man came in the 2014 US Open semis when he completely annihilated Roger in a stunning show of shot-making. But, the man from Switzerland is in a different zone altogether right now and he would surely want to stretch his winning streak to 13 this afternoon.
