As expected, world no. 8 Marin Cilic yet to experience a real challenge in the tournament. His wins over Ernests Gulbis and Konstantin Kravchuk were via straight sets, and he tallied 19 aces and 63 winners in those victories.
We should see him continue advancing convincingly. He has won 10 of his 13 clay court matches this year (97-63 all-time), which includes his run to the title at the Istanbul Open, where he eased past the likes of Milos Raonic and Diego Schwartzman on his way to the championship.
Further, Cilic has bagged the W in four of the six encounters with Feliciano Lopez. He has also shown that he can beat the Spaniard in various situations, as he has come out on top in a close game and a straight set domination.
The 36th-ranked Lopez advanced after a pair of well-earned wins. After a 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-3 grind with Bjorn Fratangelo, he had a five-set war before being able to finish off David Ferrer. They went back-and-forth – 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
It can definitely take a toll on his condition, and such up-and-down performances doesn’t make him a worthy pick, especially against an elite opponent at this type of stage. Along with losing to the Cilic three straight times, Lopez is only 119-120 on clay all-time and 34-88 versus top 10 players.
Although his two wins over Cilic were on a clay surface, remember that the matches were in 2006 and 2010, back when the Czech was still and up-and-comer. Lopez may take a set and put up some good fight in certain parts of the match, but it’s tough to see him edge a top-notch player who’s in his prime, particularly in this stage.
