Cilic downs Dimitrov in Brissy

Marin Cilic hits a forehand during his victory over Grigor Dimitrov. Source: WILLIAM WEST / AFP

IT was a new year and a new beginning for Marin Cilic.

Playing just his second tournament since serving a four-month ban for testing positive to a banned stimulant, the 37th-ranked Croatian toppled No.5 seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 7-5 on Wednesday to reach the Brisbane International quarter-finals.

"(It) feels still the same career, but feels like a new beginning for me," said Cilic, who recently hired former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic as his coach.

"Just with the new team and everything, I'm thinking about everything around myself in a different perspective.

"For me, I had a lot of time to think about everything and time to work."

Improvements in Cilic's serve were evident in a commanding performance against Dimitrov - a result of Ivanisevic encouraging him to simplify his action, or "throw the ball in the air and hit it".

"That was something special from Goran," said Cilic, who next meets No.2 seed Kei Nishikori.

"We worked a lot on the serve during the off season. I feel it's in a really good place and it could help me to play much better, especially against top players.

"So overall, of course I'm excited to be in the season and to play, to be back on the tour after all that misery last year."

In October, the Court of Arbitration for Sport partially upheld Cilic's appeal against a nine-month suspension handed down by an independent tribunal after testing positive to a banned stimulant, nikethamide, in May. CAS reduced the ban to four months.

Cilic claimed the banned substance was in a supplement bought by his mother from a chemist.

Ivanisevic, who previously coached Cilic in 2010, guided him to a second-round exit at the Paris Masters in October, his first tournament since the ban was lifted.

Cilic said he and Ivanisevic had also spent time working on his physical fitness, volleying, and offensive play, which stood him in good stead on a Pat Rafter Arena court he described very fast.

"The courts are extremely fast, and it's not easy to break," he said.

"We get used to it quickly. It's a matter of one or two days. I would say just it's a bit surprising ... actually I was not expecting it to be this fast."

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Cilic downs Dimitrov in Brissy

Dengan url

http://sportifoclube.blogspot.com/2014/01/cilic-downs-dimitrov-in-brissy.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Cilic downs Dimitrov in Brissy

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Cilic downs Dimitrov in Brissy

sebagai sumbernya