Cilic claims semis berth

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:59

Croatian Cilic, the highest seed left in the competition following Robin Soderling’s first-round exit, won 7-6 (7/3) 6-1 in one hour 38 minutes.

Cilic was not made to pay for his erratic serving, getting just 49% of his first serves in and winning just 51% of points on his first serve.

But he converted all four of his break points – three in the second set – and saved six of the eight he faced to set up a last-four meeting with Janko Tipsarevic.

Tipsarevic, the fourth seed from Serbia, broke five times and dropped his serve on three occasions as he beat Holland’s Thiemo de Bakker 7-5 7-5.

Third seed Stanislas Wawrinka overcame seventh-seeded German Michael Berrer 7-6 (7/5) 6-4.

The Swiss player saved four of the five break points he faced – all in the opening set – and converted two of the four he had to seal victory in one hour 50 minutes.

Wawrinka will face Dudi Sela in the next round after the fifth-seeded Israeli beat Slovakian Lukas Lacko 7-6 (7/3) 7-5.

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