Watch Zverev face Cilic from The O2 on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Arena, with the evening session beginning at 6pm
Sunday 12 November 2017 21:15, UK
Alexander Zverev and Marin Cilic will headline the evening session on the opening night of the ATP Finals in London.
Sunday's meeting could prove pivotal for both players' hopes of progressing from the round-robin stage at the season-ending tournament with the daunting challenge of facing Roger Federer still to come for both.
Cilic is making his third appearance at The O2 and is regarded as a strong contender in the eight-man field while Zverev is experiencing the season's denouement for the first time in his career after a stellar breakthrough campaign.
Meanwhile, the Croatian former US Open champion has enjoyed a consistent season staying in the world's top 10 throughout the campaign, despite only winning a solitary title - on clay in Istanbul.
The German world No 3 has claimed two Masters 1000 titles this year to help him become the youngest qualifier at the ATP Finals since Juan Martin Del Potro's appearance at the 2008 season finale.
The 20-year-old has begun to match his undoubted talent with a greater degree of maturity on the tour but has been unable to reflect his progression on the Grand Slam scene, having failed to progress past the fourth round this year.
Cilic, 29, suffered a disappointing week at the Paris Masters last time around falling to home favourite Julien Benneteau but, prior to that exit, he had made runs to three successive semi-finals.
The world No 5 skipped the entire North American hard-court swing with an abductor injury, hindering his chances at the US Open, but comes to London four months after reaching the Wimbledon final in confident mood.
"The year has been extremely consistent for me. I played great tennis and found the key in my own game to play at a good level almost every single week," Cilic said.
"I had a lot of victories in the last six, seven months that have given me good confidence and obviously a good belief when I'm playing the top guys, which is very important here."
Cilic, despite his greater experience, has only recorded one victory over Zverev in their four previous meetings.
The big-serving Croat defeated an 18-year-old Zverev in Washington in 2015 but since that result has succumbed on three occasions - twice losing in three sets.
The most recent encounter between the pair took place in Madrid on clay where the German, who eventually fell in the quarter-finals, recovered from losing the opener on a tiebreak to win.
Sky Sports' Mark Petchey is intrigued to see how Cilic fares in London but expects the 17-time tour winner to impress his powerful game at The O2 and launch a strong challenge.
"Cilic is an interesting one right now," Petchey said. "It appears from the outside looking in that he is putting quite a lot of pressure on himself to win and perform well.
"That's part and parcel of being a sportsman but it looks as though he feels as if this is an opportunity with the absentees to make an even bigger mark than he previously has.
"We are all looking forward to seeing how he copes with the pressure that he is putting on himself. It's a surface that suits his game - if he serves well he is clearly going to get a lot of free points."
It appears from the outside looking in that he (Cilic) is putting quite a lot of pressure on himself to win and perform well.
The season-ending extravaganza ATP Finals at London's O2 in November ends another memorable year which will be covered via our website www.skysports.com/tennis with live blogs and updates as the season reaches its climax.
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