Cilic Qualifies for Barclays ATP World Tour Finals

November 3, 2016 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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Photo credit: Sidney Beal III

Just one spot remains in the singles field at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, as Marin Cilic became the seventh player to qualify for the season-ending tournament, set for Nov. 13-20 at The O2 in London.

Cilic secured his spot with a third-round win over David Goffin on Thursday at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, joining Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic and Gael Monfils.

Cilic is set to make his second appearance at World Tour Finals, after winning his first career Grand Slam title at the 2014 U.S. Open, he went on to qualify for the season finale.

"It's been a huge last 10 days for me," said Cilic. "I played very well today. I had the pressure and David [Goffin] had beaten me the past few times. I want to keep going now and can't wait to return to The O2. It means a lot to qualify again."

Cilic's 2016 season highlight came by winning his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, where he defeated Murray in the finals. It sparked a strong end to the season for the right-hander, as he won his second title of the year at the Swiss Indoors Basel, defeating Nishikori; and reached the semifinals of the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, losing to Goffin. Earlier in the year, Cilic finished runner-up at the Open 13 in Marseille, losing to Kyrgios; and the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open, losing to Wawrinka, as well as reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals, losing to Roger Federer.

Dominic Thiem, Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are all in contention for the final ATP World Tour Finals spot. Thiem is currently in line to qualify, but after losing his Paris opener to American Jack Sock, his fate depends on the results of Berdych and Tsonga at the final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the year. A semifinal showing would be good enough for Berdych, unless Tsonga wins the title.


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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