Guido Glorious! Pella Beats Cilic To Put Argentina On Brink Of Final Eight

It is winner-takes-all on Wednesday evening inside Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney. The victor between Argentina and Croatia will top Group E and advance to the Final Eight of the inaugural ATP Cup, while the country that falls short will be eliminated.

Lefty Guido Pella certainly got Argentina off to a strong start. He defeated former World No. 3 Marin Cilic 7-6(1), 6-3 in one hour and 53 minutes to give his country a 1-0 lead. The 2019 Sao Paulo champion held strong behind his second serve, winning 60 per cent of those points, en route to his triumph.

“Ole! Ole Ole Ole! Guido! Guido!”

Those chants rang out through the Sydney night from early on in the match. Fans lined up early on the grounds of the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre, with Argentine fans walking around playing the drums and trumpets, as Croats waved their country’s flag and wore Croatian apparel. The atmosphere was what the ATP Cup is all about.

Pella played consistent tennis throughout, forcing Cilic to come up with special shots, putting pressure on the Croat. And Cilic, who has the ability to take the racquet out of almost every player’s hands, made an abundance of unforced errors.

Both men did well facing break points — Cilic saved five of seven chances and Pella staved off five of six — but that one additional break was plenty for the Argentine.

Pella now leads Cilic 3-1 in their ATP Head2Head series, winning three consecutive matches in their rivalry. At 2018 Wimbledon, Pella came from two sets down to upset the Croat.

Diego Schwartzman will now try to close out the tie for Argentina, qualifying for the Final Eight. Schwartzman faces Borna Coric, against whom he has lost two of three meetings.