Marin Cilic has enhanced his odds of qualifying for the ATP Finals in London after brushing aside Kei Nishikori 6-1, 7-6(5), in the final of the Swiss Indoors Open.
Dropping only one set en route to the final, the former grand slam champion was too strong for his higher ranked opponent in what was a repeat of the 2014 US Open final. Firing six aces and 28 winners in the encounter, Cilic was also impressive behind his serve as he successfully saved all three break points he faced. The Croat won 81% of his first service points on route to claiming his 16th ATP title.
“It was a great week for me, I played great tennis.” Said Cilic during his on-court speech.
Dropping only one service game in the entire tournament on his way to the Swiss title, the 28-year-old is now on course for a nail-biting week to see if he will qualify for the end-of-year championships for only the second time in his career. Cilic currently lies in the last qualifying place in the race to London, 210 points ahead of Tomas Berdych. He could confirm his place with a strong run at the upcoming BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, which will get underway tomorrow.
“Paris will be deciding everything, I want to finish the regular season in a good way and hope to refresh myself in the next couple of days to be ready again,” Said Cilic accord to AFP news.
“I now have the first 500 series title in my career. I’m adding it to all my other trophies. It shows me that I’m in a good way, I’m playing very well.
“I had pressure all week fighting to qualify for London. But it was a great week for me, I played some good tennis.”
Cilic will be one out of seven players that will enter Paris with the chance to qualify for the $7 million tournament, which will start on November 13th. A run to the final will secure his place, but failure will mean that he will have to rely on the performance of his fellow players. For example, if the Croat reached the last four he will book his place in London unless Berdych defeats Dominic Thiem in the final of the tournament.
Basel is the second title that Cilic has won this season. Earlier this year he defeated Andy Murray to win his first Masters title at the Cincinnati Open.
