BASEL, October 30, 2016
Fourth seed Marin Cilic defeated Kei Nishikori in Sunday’s final in Basel to become the 2016 champion of the Swiss Indoors. The world number 12 from Croatia saved all of the three break points he faced, converting two of his own to clinch a 6-1, 7-6 victory in one hour and 37 minutes.
Cilic sent a strong message in the Emirates ATP Race To London, claiming his first ATP World Tour 500 title and 16th overall at the tour-level. In total, the 28-year-old held serve in 52 of 53 service games en route to the title.
“Today on the court I had really good energy and was quite positive and motivated. There were a lot of things at stake for me and looking ahead to the Race To London, this match can decide a lot. I was really motivated to be focused on every point. I was extremely happy and proud with how I help the energy up for those two sets,” Cilic said.
The Croatian boosted his points total to 3,090 in the Emirates ATP Race To London and is currently in the final qualification position, having passed Tomas Berdych on Saturday.
“I’m really grateful for my team for giving me good energy and we’re looking to do more and always improve. When you have a week like this, it’s worth more and I’ll definitely enjoy this. It’s the first at the 500 level and now I have trophies from all the different categories. Next week is Paris and it’s another important week for the Race To London and to finish the season well. I hope to play well there.”
Making his 20th appearance in a tour-level final, Nishikori fell to 11-9 overall. “In the second set, I was a little tight. I had a couple set points and couldn’t convert. He played good tennis today,” the Japanese told.
“It was a good week for me, playing another final. I had some good wins. It will be important to have another good week in Paris and again in London. That will be my last goal of the year.”
Granolles And Sock Lift Doubles Trophies
Earlier the day, fourth seeds Marcel Granollers and Jack Sock clinched the doubles title, winning 6-3, 6-4 over Robert Lindstedt from Sweden and Michael Venus of New Zealand. The Spanish-US-American-combination finished the encounter in just under one hour of play.
“I will be playing with Ivan Dodig next season. That’s my plan, but I had a great week with Jack here. We had fun and won the title, so it’s a very good way to end the season,” told Granollers, who claimed his 13th doubles title.
“We knew well going into the week that if we played well, we could be a dangerous team. We’re both crafty and like playing from the baseline, but are also comfortable at the net. We served well and he returned very well. He usually carries me on the return games. We just had fun out there and kept it light and loose,” added Sock, who captured his eighth doubles title.
