World No. 5 lets two-set overnight advantage slip as he loses 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-7, 5-7 to unheralded Guido Pella in the second round at Wimbledon
Marin Cilic returns to Guido Pella during their second round tie at Wimbledon yesterday. Pic/Getty Images
World No. 5 Marin Cilic suffered a shock Wimbledon second round exit as last year's runner-up blew a two-set lead in his 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-7 (3/7), 5-7 loss to Argentina's Guido Pella here yesterday. When rain forced the tie to be postponed on Wednesday evening, third seed Cilic was leading by two sets against an unheralded opponent who had never won a match at Wimbledon before this year.
But the Croatian, who lost to Roger Federer in the 2017 final, collapsed once the match resumed on Court One and World No. 82 Pella took full advantage to set up a third round clash with Mackenzie McDonald. Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, had been expected to mount a strong challenge for the Wimbledon title after winning the grass-court warm-up at Queen's Club two weeks ago. The big-serving had only once before lost to a player ranked as low as Pella at Wimbledon, when he was beaten by World No. 145 Arnaud Clement 10 years ago. But after reaching the Australian Open final and French Open quarter-finals earlier this year, Cilic suffered one of the worst results of his career.
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Guido Pella after his win over Marin Cilic yesterday
Rain saves Pella
Pella is into the third round at a Grand Slam for the first time. He admitted the over-night rain delay had been a huge boost as it allowed him to change his tactics and pull off a sensational fightback. "Yesterday, he was playing so good, hitting the ball so hard that I couldn't do anything," he said."So the rain helped me a lot. Today I played differently, tried to be more aggressive, he started to feel uncomfortable."
Wawrinka exits
Meanwhile, Stan Wawrinka has crashed out of Wimbledon in the second round at the hands of Italy's Thomas Fabbiano. The former World No. slipped to a straight-sets defeat, with Fabbiano progressing 7-6 (9/7), 6-3, 7-6 (8/6).
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