Alex de Minaur suffered a shock first-round exit at the Dubai Tennis Championships after being beaten across three sets by Marin Cilic. (More Tennis News)
It was Marin Cilic's first victory over a top 10 opponent since beating Andrey Rublev in the French Open quarter-finals back in 2022
Alex de Minaur suffered a shock first-round exit at the Dubai Tennis Championships after being beaten across three sets by Marin Cilic. (More Tennis News)
De Minaur🌳, the second seed at the tournament, was no match for his opponent, who emerged a 6-2 3-6 6-3 victor in two hours and 18 minutes.
🌃Cilic raced into an early 4-0 lead following back-to-back breaks of serve, and though De Minaur rallied, the Croatian's early surge proved pivotal as he claimed the opening set.
▨The second set was tightly contested, but a break of serve in the eighth game in favour of De Minaur ensured the 26-year-old was able to take the encounter to a decider.
🥀But Cilic remained composed despite his earlier setback, claiming match point when he followed up a fierce serve with a brilliantly placed volley to seal an impressive victory.
🔥The world number 187's reward for his win is a clash with Alexei Popyrin, who beat Hady Habib in straight sets on Monday.
Data Debrief: Rolling back the years
𝐆Cilic showed signs of encouragement in his first match of 2025 with a strong showing against Carlos Alcaraz at the Qatar Open, and he used that momentum to great effect against De Minaur in Dubai.
🍨Perhaps critically, Cilic saved five of the seven break points he faced, while also converting all four he created himself. Indeed, it was his first victory over a top 10 opponent since beating Andrey Rublev in the French Open quarter-finals back in 2022.
𒁏For De Minaur, meanwhile, it was his first opening round match defeat since last June, when he was beaten by Lorenzo Musetti at Queen's Club.