Croatian Marin Cilic cruised into the final of the Chennai Open with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Spaniard Marcel Granollers.
Indian wildcard gets walkover into final
Croatian Marin Cilic cruised into the final of the Chennai Open with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Spaniard Marcel Granollers.
World number 27 Cilic - the third seed here - took just 72 minutes to see off his unseeded opponent.
The 20-year-old Cilic, a semi-finalist here last year when he lost to eventual champion Mikhail Youzhny, dominated Granollers from the baseline.
He wrapped up the first set in 38 minutes after breaking Granollers' serve in the ninth game and then secured two successive breaks in the third and fifth games to set up a straightforward win.
"I played a good game today because I served well and was confident of my returns," he said. "It will be a tough final because Somdev has beaten some very good players and he will have the crowd behind him as well."
He was referring to home favourite Somdev Devvarman, who he will meet in the final on Sunday after the Indian wildcard was handed a walkover in the semi-final by Rainer Schuettler.
The fifth-seeded German withdrew due to a left wrist injury he sustained during a doubles match on Friday. He also revealed he was pulling out of next week's event in Sydney in the hope of recovering in time for the Australian Open later this month.
It will be a first ATP Tour final for the 23-year-old Devvarman, who beat world number 25 Ivo Karlovic and former world number one Carlos Moya in the previous two rounds.
"I was awesome today in the semi-final," Devvarman joked to reporters after his walkover. "But seriously, I have my work cut out in the final because Cilic has been playing some great tennis this week.
"I just need to focus on my game in the final. I did not expect to get so far because I was a wildcard entry, but now that I am there, I will give it my best shot."
