Marin Cilic feels he is in “really good” shape to avoid more Grand Slam final agony after easing past Kyle Edmund to break new ground at the Australian Open.
Cilic on Thursday became the first Croatian to reach the final at Melbourne Park, ending Edmund’s dream run with a resounding 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory.
The sixth seed will face either Roger Federer or Chung Hyeon in his third Major decider on Sunday, reward for a relentless semifinal performance on Rod Laver Arena.
Cilic was reduced to tears as he struggled with blisters during a Wimbledon final defeat to Federer last year, but the 29-year-old says he is in rude heath ahead of another potential showdown with the Swiss this weekend.
.@cilic_marin will rise to a new career-high ranking of No.with passage to the final!#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/yRnT3lBVGU
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2018
“I feel really good. Today was a different intensity than in the match with Rafa [Nadal in the quarter-final], in that match I lifted my game a lot and my energy was really good on court,” Cilic said in his on-court interview.
“Overall I’m feeling really good, thanks to my fitness coach and my guys, they are making me work hard.
“The great thing is now I have two days off, so it’s going to be a nice one on Sunday.”
Edmund went off for a medical timeout after the first set and although it was not clear what the problem was, Cilic sensed the Brit was not moving as freely in what proved to be the final set.
“I noticed in the third game of the third set, when I broke him, he let a couple of balls go past him.” said Cilic, who will rise to number three in the rankings next week.
“I could see he was a little bit restricted with his movement, so I tried to move the ball around and obviously that second break was crucial.”
Source: HindustanTimes