Cilic Begins Quest In Rotterdam

Marin Cilic, the 2014 runner-up, fired down 10 aces and won 90 per cent of his first service points to beat Denis Istomin on Monday for a spot in the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament second round.

“It was a very close match,” said Cilic. “Denis is the kind of player that can play really, really well, especially indoors. He’s got really good shots from the back of the court. I think it was a strange match today. Both of us were serving extremely well. There were no breaks of serve in the match until the last game. I was threatening a lot in the second set and was close to converting some break opportunities. I had to hang in there mentally. I was moving well and serving well and that was key for me.”

Watch Cilic Pre-Tournament Interview

Ivan Dodig saved all four break points he faced to knock out seventh seed Benoit Paire 6-3, 7-6(4) in 90 minutes, while Jiri Vesely hit 11 aces to win an all-Czech clash against Lukas Rosol 6-4, 6-2 in 75 minutes.

Watch Dodig Hot Shot

Borna Coric made it three from three for the Croats when he made a winning debut against local wild card Thiemo de Bakker. The 19 year old saved 10 set points to secure the opening tiebreak and went on to break in the eighth game of the third set, converting his seventh break point of the match.

“It was a very close match. In the end I was a little bit lucky, but also brave,” Coric said. “I didn’t play very well in my last three tournaments. I didn’t feel very well [on the court]. This was my fresh start. I focused on this match a lot and I did play well in the end. I just knew if I broke at that stage in the third that more or less that would be it. I was really digging in there.”

French qualifier Nicolas Mahut continued his run of form to down Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-4, 7-6(4). The 34 year old hit six aces and won 77 per cent of first serve points to progress in one hour and 51 minutes.