Guido Pella def. (3) Marin Cilic 3-6, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-5
One of the tournament favorites, Marin Cilic joined a growing list of seeds exiting Wimbledon early. The Croat, seeded to meet Roger Federer in the top-half semifinals, crashed out to an unlikely spoiler, Guido Pella, from Argentina.
Pella is no grass-court specialist. He had won just two matches in three tournaments going into the Championships, while Cilic triumphed at Queen’s Club a week and a half ago–beating Novak Djokovic in the final. Pella had also never won a match at Wimbledon prior to this year.
The match was business as usual for the No. 3 seed through Wednesday evening, but then the rains came. Officials, thinking perhaps to see the match completed on Wednesday, allowed play to resume. The decision was risky, given that play was suspended on all other outside courts. Cilic paid the price, because even though officials eventually called play for the evening, they did not do so before Cilic found himself trailing by a break at 4-3.
The two men were back on Court 1 on Thursday, with Pella holding onto the break to take the third set. From there, Cilic gradually started to go off his game. He saved a pair of match points and then a third, but on Pella’s fourth the Croat pulled up on a forehand and dumped it into the net.
Pella will take on American Mackenzie McDonald in a stunning third-round matchup.
[polldaddy poll=10048597]
Leave a Reply