AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2018: MARIN CILIC REACH HIS FIRST FINAL EVER BY BEATING EDMUND’S
Cilic won 6-2 7-6
(7-4) 6-2 to reach his first Melbourne final, where he will face Roger Federer
or Hyeon Chung.
There it is! @cilic_marin claims the first set in his bid to become the first 🇭🇷 player - man or woman - to reach the #AusOpen Final. pic.twitter.com/BJm526EHim— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2018
Edmund, 23, refused
to blame a hip problem which required treatment, saying it was
"irrelevant".
He had been trying
to become the fourth British man to reach a Grand Slam final since tennis
turned pro in 1968.
His ranking is set
to rise from 49th in the world to around 25th next week.
"It's been a
really good couple of weeks for me," added Edmund.
"I won some tough matches, beat good players."
Victory would have
seen him overtake Andy Murray as British number one, at least until the Scot
makes his expected return from hip surgery for the grass-court season in June.
A remarkable run
through the draw, which began with what was then a career-best win over 11th
seed Kevin Anderson and included a stunning victory against third seed Grigor
Dimitrov, ended in disappointment.
Cilic, the 2014 US
Open champion, dominated from the outset, while Edmund required a medical
timeout after the first set and appeared to be hindered in the closing stages.
"I noticed in
the third game in the third set, he let a couple of balls go," said Cilic.
"I was seeing
that his movement was restricted so I was trying to move the ball around."
Cilic, 29, was
playing in his fifth major semi-final, and trying to reach a third Grand Slam
final, while Edmund has yet to make it past the semi-finals of any ATP
tournament.
The Yorkshireman's
powerful game has improved markedly in the new season but the gulf in
experience ultimately showed in an authoritative performance from Cilic.
Two breaks points in
the opening game of the match were the only ones Edmund would see all evening.
A double-fault on
his opening serve pointed to nerves and Edmund was under pressure early, giving
up the first break with a net cord in game six.
When Cilic thumped a
forehand into the corner to break again, Edmund had just one winner on his
favoured forehand side and had won only 50% of points on serve.
The Briton headed
for the locker room and a medical timeout, but there was no obvious sign of
distress as he dug in during the second set.
Fired up after an
argument with the umpire over a call, Edmund forced a tie-break and kept in
touch until 3-3, but he could not chase down a forehand on the run and Cilic
raced to 6-3, converting his second break point.
Cilic continued to
play aggressively, as he had done against Rafael Nadal in the previous round,
keeping the points short and hitting hard and deep, with two breaks carrying
him to the verge of victory in the third set.
The world number six
dropped just five points behind his first serve and there was little Edmund
could do to stop the sixth seed becoming the first Croat to reach the
Australian Open final when he swung a serve out wide, before raising his arms
aloft in triumph.
"I think in the
second set I was a bit up and down with my game and not getting enough returns
back," added Cilic.
"He started to
serve quite good. I stayed mentally very focused and tried to play every single
point. It was crucial in the tie-break to keep that pressure."
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