Enviado: 18 de Junio de 2015, 11:39
Marin Cilic- Viktor Troicki
Both players have had "drug " bans from the sport, Troicki was out of tennis for a year and upon his return last summer, was ranked #847 in the world, in six months, through which he won a couple of challengers and beat several big name players in the ATP events he could enter, he got that up to #102 and in a very solid 2015 , with a win in Sydney and final in Stuttgart last week on grass, he is now up to #25. He is hungry for more and has his eye well and truly on his career high ranking of #12 which he reached almost exactly four years ago. This is the last year of his twenties and a final opportunity to be remembered for his tennis and not other reasons. He is 4-5 lifetime against Marin Cilic, but has won the last four, including their meeting in Stuttgart on grass just a week ago, where he won in three sets, losing the second on a tie breaker, but overall, playing the big points better.
Cilic was himself banned, but only for a few months after appeal and has already had his "comeback", with his US Open win of last year, he has been troubled by a shoulder injury since, missed the start of this season and the Australian Open ,before perhaps returning to action too soon at Indian Wells and he again had to take time out, missing another month. So he only played one match in the opening four months of the season and it has been rather slow progress since, although there were signs that things were starting to come together at Roland Garros, but he is not quite battle hardened yet, or used to these back to back hard fought games and following his three setter with Adrian Mannarino, he looks vulnerable here again. Cilic won this event in 2013, but it will surely be the hardcourt campaign and a defence of his US Open title that he will have his eye on and I suspect the grass court season is just a little too soon for him. Troicki feels like a man on a mission, this is his 7th grass court match of the month already and he is very near the top of his form and getting the handicap start is a bonus. Victor Troicki +2.5 games 2.09 Pinnacle Sports/ Sportmarket Pro..........alternative would be the Troicki win @ circa 2.70 + which seems very decent.