Maharashtra Open: Big-serving Marin Cilic makes light work of Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert

Physically, he has warmed up for the grind of the upcoming season, and mentally fresh, already started tearing away from the pack at the Tata Open Maharashtra. Having beaten home favourite Ramkumar Ramanthan in straight sets in the second round, the world no. 6 Croat came up against Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The 2014 US Open champion needed just 65 minutes to dispatch the Frenchman.

6-3, 6-2. Cilic has spent only two hours and 20 minutes on court to get to the semi-finals, putting on a display of dominating tennis. And his massive serve has been a clear focal point of his success so far. “Serving has been important for me, and that’s given me freedom to hit from the back of the court,” he says. “Because of it, I’ve felt confident in my forehand and backhand. I have an all-round game with big weapons.”

On Thursday evening, Cilic took control of the rallies and didn’t allow Herbert any room to try his favoured chip-and-charge game. And as the 6-foot-6 started raining down his big serves – he started the match off with a 190 kmph ace and later touched 220 – the big groundstrokes wreaked further havoc. In the first game of the second set, Cilic produced a moment of brilliance, wrapping flair, power, vision and balance in a single shot. Herbert, on a second serve, placed a kick-serve wide. The Croat read the flight and bounce early though, leapt up, swivelled in the air and sweetly struck a forehand winner down the line to take the score to 15-30.

Cilic would find the break in that game and carry on with that momentum.

In Herbert, Cilic found a different breed of player compared to Ramkumar. The Frenchman stands 81st in the world, and is a two-time Grand Slam champion in doubles. In November, the 26-year-old played a crucial role in France winning the Davis Cup for the first time since 2001.

And like Cilic, Herbert does own a powerful service game. But it was the groundstrokes that made the difference, particularly when it came to Cilic holding serve. The 29-year-old, who reached the Wimbledon final last year, won 96 per cent of his first serve points (23 of 24). The strong shots pushed Herbert deeper behind the baseline and drew shorter returns that invited Cilic to the net. And the top seed finished off the volleys with finesse.

Match point combined everything Cilic had put on display. A big serve, measuring 215 kmph, out wide, followed by a massive forehand deep into Herbert’s backhand side. The Frenchman did manage to get a return in play, but Cilic glided to the net and calmly volleyed home to win a spot in the semifinals. It was a dominant performance, yet Cilic did find a few faults in his game. “I was feeling good and striking the ball well, but there are still parts that I can improve,” he says. “I’m not trying to be a perfectionist, but just to use the chances the best I can.” So far, he’s lit the centre court in Pune with a fiery, yet irresistible brand of tennis.

Anderson scrapes through

Second seed Kevin Anderson was stretched to three sets by a combative Mikhail Kukushkin before winning 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 in a two-hour-30-minute encounter. The big serving South African, who reached the final of the US Open back in September, fired 24 aces in his first full match on Indian soil – he received a bye in the first round and on Wednesday, his opponent retired after the first set.

A match that had both struggling to find any rhythm on their groundstrokes was decided on Anderson’s serve. And the 6-foot-8 South African steadily found some form as the match went on. “The more you play, the more you learn to be patient,” he said. “Mikhail is a good returner, so it was important to stay focused.” In the semifinals, Anderson comes up against the temperamental Frenchman Benoit Paire – who made it to this stage last year as well.

Defending champions Bopanna-Jeevan ousted

Last year’s Chennai Open doubles champions Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Rohan Bopanna lost to French pair Gilles Simon and Pierre-Hugues Herbert 3-6, 5-7 in their quarterfinal tie. Meanwhile the pair of Yuki Bhambri and Divij Sharan won their match against Robert Lindstedt and Franko Skugor 7-5, 2-6, 10-6, and are the only Indians left in the competition.