Cilic, Goffin win in Paris to set up London-impacting showdown

Marin Cilic continued his recent hot streak with a 7-6(7), 6-2 win over Ivo Karlovic in round two of the BNP Paribas Masters on Wednesday afternoon. Cilic held all 10 of his service games, saving two break points in the process, to get the job done in one hour and 33 minutes. With the victory, the Croat took another big step toward qualifying for the World Tour Finals.

Cilic’s 2016 campaign reached a high point when he captured the Cincinnati Masters title this summer and he surged into year-end championship qualifying position by triumphing at last week’s Swiss Indoors Basel. With one more win in Paris, Cilic would officially clinch a place in London unless Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Roberto Bautista Agut wins the title and does so by beating Tomas Berdych in the final. The world No. 10 would also pass Dominic Thiem for No. 7 in the race because Thiem lost to Jack Sock 6-2, 6-4 in his Paris opener on Wednesday.

“I’m really excited and satisfied with my form, especially these past few months,” Cilic assured. “I’ve been trying for a long time to find that consistency at the big tournaments. That was a goal of mine at the beginning of the season, so I’m just hoping to continue with good tennis here and make it to London.”

A battle with massive London implications now awaits Cilic, as he will face David Goffin on Thursday. Goffin kept his chances alive on Wednesday thanks to a 7-6(5), 6-3 defeat of Nicolas Mahut.

“I’m just focused on what I have to do and I’ll play match by match,” said Goffin, who must beat Cilic and then go on to reach at least the final. “I can feel that it’s the end of the season and it’s never easy when you feel a little bit tired. But it’s a big tournament and my goal is to finish the season without any regrets. I’m just going to give everything until the end.”

“David has been playing very well this season,” Cilic commented. “We just played in Tokyo and it was a tough match. It’s a battle now between me, him, Berdych, and Tsonga. I’m just hoping to continue with my good tennis and find a good way to play him this time.”