The rain-filled skies of Paris pushed 11 Monday matches to Tuesday at Roland Garros, but not before Marin Cilic produced one of the best performances of the day.
Cilic, the #20 overall seed, dispatched Attila Balazs 6-0 6-1 6-2 in just 1 hour and 29 minutes. Powered by his forehand, the Croatian used a fantastic variety of shots to total 32 winners. He was hitting a very clean ball and did not seem to be bothered by the slow, damp courts.
The 33-year-old Croatian pounded 11 aces, winning 43-of-57 points on his serve. If Cilic can play his serve and first ball as well as he did Monday, he will be a tough out here in Paris.
Cilic holds a career-winning percentage of 61.1% on the clay and is 5-4 on the surface here in 2022.
He made the quarterfinals at Roland Garros back in 2017 and 2018. A favorable draw paired with his in-form play could set up Marin Cilic for another deep run in Paris.
What’s Next?
Cilic is set to face world No. 57 Marton Fucsovics in Round 2. He leads the head-to-head over the Hungarian 2-0. Should he work his way past Fucsovics, this quarter of the draw is as favorable as you could ask for.
#16 seed Pablo Carreno Busta is the potential Round of 32 matchup for Cilic. He leads their head-to-head 4-1. A date with #2 seed Daniil Medvedev is in the possible cards for the Round of 16. Medvedev’s issue with this surface has been well-documented which makes him very susceptible to an upset.
Former world No. 3 Marin Cilic is proving to once again be a real contender on the ATP Tour. Do not be surprised if he is making noise in Paris during week two.
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