Already guaranteed to finish in first place in the group, Roger Federer has dominated Marin Cilic (6-7, 6-4, 6-1) on Thursday in London.
Federer was applied to the service (17 aces, 68% of first bullets), but without glare elsewhere (30 faults). Opposite, Cilic, already eliminated, took risks with too little success (36 winners, 43 unforced errors in the first run). As in his final lost at Wimbledon this year, already against Federer, the Croatian was too fickle to claim the final victory. With no break on either side, the two players played in the first set in the tie-break, which was scored by Croatia on the lowest margin by a winning forehand. More enterprising, especially in return, the Swiss made the race in the lead in the second set, he won with a break made in the tenth game.
14 times in semifinals in 15 participations
The third run was a health walk for the 19-time Grand Slam champion who, despite some unusual mistakes, was more aggressive in his attacks. After taking the service of his opponent twice, he concluded the set and the match after 1:54 of play. "It was a difficult match," admitted the Swiss after the meeting. "I had opportunities in the first set, but Marin served well, and I was undecided on some important moments," he said. "I'm happy to have found a way out, and I really played well on the end, I'm happy with my level of play." This is the 14th time, in 15 participations, that the Swiss come out of the pool phase of the Masters. He beat German Alexander Zverev and American Jack Sock in his first two games. These two players will meet tonight (20:00 GMT), the winner of the meeting will qualify for the semi-finals. After two defeats in his first two games, Marin Cilic no longer had a chance to reach the final four.