Help
2/26/09 3:56 AM | Ricky Dimon
Novak Djokovic and Marin Cilic will square off for the third time in their careers on Wednesday night in Dubai. A spot in the Barclays Tennis Championships semifinals is on the line.
It will be the third career meeting between Novak Djokovic and Marin Cilic when two of the game's brightest stars clash in the quarterfinals of the Barclays Tennis Championships on Thursday night. They squared off in the Dubai first round last season and Djokovic eased through that encounter in straight sets. It was much more difficult for the favorite at last summer's U.S. Open. Djokovic dropped the first set before outlasting Cilic in a fourth-set tiebreaker.
Cilic was already playing well last summer (having prevailed in New Haven just before the U.S. Open), but now he is simply one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour. The 6'6'' Croat captured a season-opening title in Chennai and went on to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open before falling to Juan Martin Del Potro. Cilic hoisted a second trophy of 2009 earlier this month in Zagreb, and he is one of five players who have won multiple titles already this season (Cilic, Andy Murray, Radek Stepanek, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Tommy Robredo). So far in Dubai he has taken out Janko Tipsarevic and Julien Benneteau, both in three sets.
Unlike Cilic, Djokovic has not been entirely on top of his game this season. The world No. 3 lost to Ernests Gulbis in the first round of Brisbane, fell to Jarkko Nieminen in the Sydney semifinals, retired against Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, and got bounced from the Marseille semifinals last week by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Those results notwithstanding, Djokovic can obviously be one of the best--if not best--players in the world. In 2008 he won bookend titles at the Australian Open and Masters Cup. The Serb ousted Flavio Cipolla in straight sets on Tuesday before surviving Jan Hernych 6-4 in the third in round two.
With Cilic scorching hot and Djokovic reeling just a little bit, this almost looks like an even matchup on paper. It very well could turn out to be the best match of the entire week in terms of both quality and competitiveness. Cilic is playing just as well from the back of the court as his opponent right now, so Djokovic has to mix in some drop-shots and net approaches in order to combat Cilic's advantage on serve. If Cilic is putting in a lot of his first deliveries, look for him to pull of the upset in three tight sets.
Tell a friend »
Obviously that's what I meant. No research necessary, I watched all of those matches! But thanks for the catch. It's changed.
RickyDimon , 2/26/09 8:12 AM
I hope N pray for Cilic win as i cannot see Novak winning !!!!!!!!!!!!!! well.........wishes rarely comes true & i want this one to come true !!!!!!!!!!!! best of luck CILIC. I hope u will make me happy as Tsunami did !!!!!!!!!!
tomnjerry2 , 2/26/09 9:46 AM
Cilic is a talented, decent player, but Novak is way better.
He will have to raise the bar a notch higher today though, as he can't afford so many UEs as against the Heynrich yesterday.
noleisthebest , 2/26/09 11:08 AM
I agree noleisthebest. The fact that he raised his level to brilliance when it mattered against Hernych is a testament to the great talent Novak is.
samprallica , 2/26/09 3:17 PM
Djokovic (& his lovers) must be having last laugh (ha ha ha) now as Murray quits !!!!!!!!!! lucky guy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tomnjerry2 , 2/26/09 4:49 PM
tomnjerry2, I'm really sorry you can't be happy, cause our maestro has shown his amazing tennis, he was playing excelently, you and the others, very well known as Novak's haters can simply die in your hater, go Nole go, just and simply go...
By the way, our Novak is great, cause only great champions can win when they're playing bad, and when they're under the stress, that's why he's CHAMPION
gordana , 2/26/09 6:48 PM
gordana you are just fueling the discussion if you pay attention, those characters usually go away by themselves if you just ignore them ...
posmatrac , 2/26/09 7:36 PM
Posmatrac,
told 'ya!
noleisthebest , 2/26/09 9:34 PM
noleisthebest,
good stuff from Novak and you, i hope he tunes his form and provides us with some enjoyable moments.
posmatrac , 2/26/09 10:06 PM
Novak should win this no doubt. But Simon is an unpredictable player. I was hoping to see Murray Vs Djoker final. I want to see this 2 again. Murray destroyed djoker last time they played. I want to see how what is the difference is now. Sad.
torres9 , 2/27/09 1:23 AM
Torres,
i do not remember any "destroying". As far as I remember, they played two tight matches last summer, something like 6:7, 6:7 and 6:7, 4:6 (have no time now to go checking the numbers). Anyhow, to bad they won't have the chance to fight in Dubai this time. I was also waiting to see them in finals.
As for Simon, he is unpredictable and great but I hope Nole wins.
Hate to point that out, but what is with putting them to play at 2pm, again in heat, while having Ferer and Gasquet at fancy 7pm time? Plain wrong.
danica , 2/27/09 2:45 AM
They played in Cincy - 7-6(4) 7-6(5) - Murray had the upper hand all the way despite the score, but hardly a destruction job. Maybe you're thinking of the week before at the Rogers? 6-3 7-6(3)
tenisbebe , 2/27/09 3:10 PM
Novak Djokovic
Marin Cilic
Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
Contact us
/ About us
/ Cookies
/ Recommended links
/ Advertise
/ Sitemap
Tennistalk v1.5.0
Disclaimer © 2001-2010, Moneytainment Media Ltd - All rights reserved
"So far in Dubai he has taken out Janko Tipsarevic and Julien Benneteau, both in straight sets." Ricky Dimon you should do a little bit research before you write an article. Both of those were very very close, hard and won in 3 sets.
zikili , 2/26/09 8:01 AM