Top seed and 2014 finalist Marin Cilic won an all-Croatian battle on Thursday against Borna Coric, part of the #NextGenATP, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in just under two hours at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
Cilic won the first five games of the pair’s third FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting, ending with 11 aces and losing just 10 of his first service points.
“I think we both played really good tennis. I started to get into a good rhythm at the end of that first set but then I lost my serve in the middle of that second set when he came up with some amazing shots,” said the World No. 7.
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“Obviously, he was showing great fighting spirit and I knew it was going to be tough in that third set. I just tried to be mentally strong. Just a few points decided the outcome.”
Locked at 3-3 in the decider, Cilic managed to fend off five break points before closing out victory. “It proved to be the deciding game. I managed to win that game and I’m really happy I kept my focus.”
He will now play his first ATP World Tour quarter-final of 2017 against sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 2011 runner-up. “I’m definitely looking forward to it,” said Cilic, who holds a 5-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head record over the Frenchman.
“It will be a tough match as always. There isn’t much that will separate us. We both have good serves and powerful games. I’ll have to be mentally strong and keep up my good tennis.”
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Fourth seed Tomas Berdych is also through to the last eight after finishing strongly in a 7-6(4), 6-1 win over Richard Gasquet.
"They were two very different sets," said Berdych, who rallied from 1-3 down in the first set. "The beginning wasn't ideal, as Goran [Ivanisevic – coach] said. I didn't show up for the beginning. Luckily I picked up very quickly, found my rhythm, then played a very good and tough first set. It was a solid tie-break for me.
“From the beginning of the second set I started applying more and more pressure, coming to the net more and he felt that pressure and gave me a couple of chances. An early break helps a lot and it snowballed from there. It was a good performance today."
Berdych goes on to face defending champion Martin Klizan. The 31-year-old Czech is bidding to reach the final of this ATP World Tour 500 tournament for the third time, having lifted the trophy in 2014 (d. Cilic) and finished runner-up in 2015 (l. to Wawrinka).
Third seed David Goffin was forced to go the distance for a maiden Rotterdam quarter-final spot in a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over last Dutchman standing Robin Haase.
Goffin won both previous contests against the wildcard, including in Doha last month at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, but Haase injected pace into his groundstrokes to surge 4-1 ahead. The Belgian restored parity to edge towards a tie-break, before Haase clinched the opening set with a blistering forehand cross court winner on the run.
A single break was sufficient for Goffin, finalist at the Garanti Koza Sofia Open last week, to level the match by winning 89 per cent of points on first serve.
The duo were tied in the decider until 4-4 when Goffin struck two backhand passing-shot winners to take the initiative. A delicate drop shot sealed his progression into the last eight to face in-form Grigor Dimitrov.