Cilic retains Zagreb title

Marin Cilic has retained his Zagreb Indoors title after beating Michael Berrer 6-4 6-7 6-3 on Sunday.

Top seed beats Berrer in three sets

Marin Cilic has retained his Zagreb Indoors title after beating Michael Berrer 6-4 6-7 6-3 on Sunday. The top-seeded Croat took two hours and 38 minutes to overcome the unseeded 29-year-old German and claim his fifth career title in all. Making his own first appearance in an ATP final, Berrer gave a strong performance befitting a player who had beaten seeded players Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki in earlier rounds before ousting compatriot Philipp Petzschner in the semi-finals. Cilic won the first set after recording the only break of service. However, his opponent, who is ranked number 65 in the world, displayed a series of powerful returns in the second. The favourite managed to hold serve, but Berrer took the resulting tie-break 7-5. In the deciding set, the 21-year-old Croat broke serve in the fourth game and then saved two break points before serving his 13th ace of the match to seal what proved a hard-fought victory. Cilic has reached the world's top 10 for the first time this year after winning the Chennai Open last month and also reaching his first grand slam semi-final at the Australian Open.