Marin Cilic beats Kei Nishikori to win the Swiss Indoors title
Sunday 30 October 2016 17:55, UK
Marin Cilic beat Kei Nishikori in straight sets to win the Swiss Indoors title,, a repeat of their 2014 US Open final meeting.
The fourth-seeded Croat raced through the first set in 25 minutes on his way to a 6-1 7-6 (7-5) victory.
Nishikori, the third-seeded Japanese, wasted three set-point chances at 5-4, then double-faulted when Cilic held a second match point.
Cilic's second title of the season strengthened his hold on the last qualifying place for the ATP Tour Finals in London.
"Well done for Kei, but tough luck today," Cilic said. "It was a very close match. I played well.
"I had pressure all week fighting to qualify for London. But it was a great week for me, I played some good tennis.
"I feel great, it was a tough week, there was a lot at stake. I came up with some great tennis despite the pressure."
Cilic, who was winning his 16th career title from 27 finals, added "I now have the first 500 series title in my career. I'm adding it to all my other trophies. It shows me that I'm in a good way, I'm playing very well."
Ranked No 12 coming to Basel, Cilic rose above Tomas Berdych in the points race. The Finals week line-up is decided at the Paris Masters starting Monday.
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Sunday's final was the first Basel title match in a decade that did not feature hometown favourite Roger Federer.
Nishikori, who already knows that he is on his way to London for the third straight year, refused to make excuses after his defeat.
"I didn't feel I was in there all the time. If I could have won the second set, maybe something would have changed," he said.
"In the end, I didn't feel comfortable and didn't feel the balls well today. It was a combination of his good tennis and the fact that I was not at 100 per cent.
"In the second set it was close, I had a couple of set points but couldn't convert."
