Cilic made a terrific stat to his Wimbledon campaign as he took care of World No. 31 Philipp Kohlschreiber to win his first round match in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. Cilic’s power was in full display in that matchup. He put 64 percent of his first serves in play, won 79 percent of those first serve points, and fired 15 aces. Meanwhile, he hit 47 winners against just 21 unforced errors.
His return game was also on point, as he won 43 percent of return points and broke Kohlschreiber’s serve four times.
With the win, Cilic now improves to 7-2 on grass this season and 54-25 (a 68 percent win percentage) in his career on the surface. Cilic simply loves it on the grass courts of the All-England Court, where he has reached the quarterfinals for three straight years.
It’s been a few years since Cilic and his second-round opponent Mayer have met, but Cilic did win their last meeting in 2015.
For the first time in his last nine attempts, Mayer has made it past the first round of a Grand Slam. However, he didn’t really earn his win as his first-round opponent, Viktor Troicki, was forced to retire due to injury after one set.
Nevertheless, it should be a welcome break for Mayer, who is not having a particularly great season. The 33-year-old is just 5-12 overall, although three of those wins have come on grass. He defeated World No. 14 Lucas Pouille in the second round of Halle before falling to Roger Federer in the quarterfinals.
Mayer will be a considerable underdog against Cilic, although he does own two career wins over Cilic, including a first-round win in Wimbledon. However, that win came all the way back in 2010.
Writer’s Prediction
Cilic (-1,100) marches on to the third round with a straight-sets win over Mayer.
