Wimbledon Quarter-Final Preview: Novak Djokovic vs Marin Cilic
Djokovic plays for the third straight day in this year’s Wimbledon tournament when he faces Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the men’s quarterfinals. His 4th round match against Kevin Anderson of South Africa lasted 2 days due to rain, with Djokovic managing to win the 5th set, which was played on Tuesday. He had to stage a massive comeback from 2 sets down to wrap things up with a 6-7(6) 6-7(6) 6-1 6-4 7-5 win over Anderson.
Djokovic holds a 12-0 record against Cilic, and the Croat will definitely have to be at his best to beat the current World No.1 and reigning Wimbledon champion. Djokovic won’t have it easy, however, as at last year’s Wimbledon, he was pushed to a 5 setter against Cilic, who played as though he had nothing to lose.
Cilic, whose playing style is similar to Anderson’s with some big serves and powerful shots, will derive encouragement from how the latter pushed Djokovic to his very limits.
As mentioned to ATP World Tour, Cilic has a very clear strategy if he is to make a major upset;
“Well, it’s pretty simple from my side. If Novak is playing at the speed that he likes, of course, that's the speed that he's going to be better at, so I'm going to have to be more aggressive and play more risky tennis,” said the 2014 US Open champion, who has hit 99 aces in 17 sets played this fortnight. “Of course that leaves less margins for error, but that's the way I was playing last year. I think this would be the best opportunity for me, to play full on.”
Djokovic for his part isn’t too perturbed by his long match against Kevin Anderson, according to the Telegraph, and remains fairly confident;
"It's just how your body reacts and how it recovers," said Djokovic, who hadn't dropped a set this fortnight until facing Anderson.
"I think I'm going to be fine. ... I think I haven't spent too much energy throughout this tournament. Of course, this match was by far the toughest I had so far. Let's see. I'm confident I can feel good."
An interesting match is on the cards for sure.
Road to Quarters
| Cilic | Djokovic | |
| 1st Round | bt Moriya 6-3 6-2 7-6 | bt Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-4 6-4 |
| 2nd Round | bt Berankis 6-3 4-6 7-6 4-6 7-5 | bt Nieminen 6-4 6-2 6-3 |
| 3rd Round | bt Isner 7-6 6-7 6-4 6-7 12-10 | bt Tomic 6-3 6-3 6-3 |
| 4th Round | bt Kudla 6-4 4-6 6-3 7-5 | bt Anderson 6-7 6-7 6-1 6-4 7-5 |
Prediction: Djokovic to win in 5 sets