They were the number one and two seeds coming in the 2015 Kremlin Cup and both lived up to their billing by surging through the final, where they will meet each other for the second consecutive season.
After a tough round of sixteen clash with Denis Istomin, Cilic breezed past Kuznetsov and Donskoy in the quarter and semi finals respectively. The defending champion took just 77 minutes to defeat Donskoy in today’s semi final with a global scoreline of 6-3, 6-1, after firing 10 aces in the match and winning 80% of first serve points.
Cilic’s hopes of another showing at the World Tour Finals are slim but would be improved by winning the title tomorrow as he would leap from 13th to 11th in the Race. In that final Cilic will face Roberto Bautista who he already beat in last year’s championship match 6-4, 6-4, in what is their only previous meeting. The Spaniard claimed his place in Sunday’s showdown after defeating Kohlschreiber in straight sets. This will be the first final of the season for both players and a chance for Bautista to gain revenge and lift the third title of his career.
