The Australian Open comes to a close on Sunday when the men’s final takes place and for the second time in three Grand Slams it will be Marin Cilic going up against Roger Federer for the trophy and the winner’s cheque.
These two met in a largely disappointing Wimbledon final last year but with both looking in a good shape going into this title showdown we should get a much better contest to enjoy to end a decent fortnight of tennis.
Marin Cilic
The Croatian has been something of a revelation in this tournament especially in the second week of it. He has come past Pablo Carreno Busta, Rafael Nadal and Kyle Edmund and he has done so with some aggressive tennis and with some heavy serving which he is famous for. His power has taken opponents by surprise.
Cilic is a former Grand Slam champion so we know he can perform on the big stage so any worry about his poor performance in the Wimbledon final is only of very little concern. He was heavily restricted by blisters that afternoon but there appears to be no sign of that here. He has had the extra day off too which is never a bad thing.
Roger Federer
The classy Roger Federer has made his way into this final without dropping a set in the tournament so far and even had the luxury of an early night in the semi-final when his opponent Hyeon Chung quit in the second set, ironically suffering from the same blister issue that caught Cilic out at SW19. He has oozed class throughout the competition so far.
Whether that is a good thing or not remains to be seen. Sometimes it is nice to have a bit of a battle and be made to work for a passage through but of the 17 sets Federer has played this week only three of them have made their way to a tiebreak so he really has been unchallenged throughout the draw. That shows he is playing well but one wonders what will happen if he can be drawn into a tussle.
Head to Head
Federer leads the head to head record against most men on the tennis circuit and this match up is no different in that regard. He has an 8-1 success rate over the Croatian but Cilic will know his win came in a Grand Slam when he beat the Swiss star in the semi-final of the US Open in 2014, the Grand Slam Cilic went on to win. If we ignore the Wimbledon final, Cilic has won at least one set in their last four meetings.
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Betting
Some people wilt when they go up against Roger Federer but that is not the case for Marin Cilic so we should be set for a cracking contest to round off what has been a pretty decent tournament. Both these men are playing well and the final of this competition often gives us a tasty conclusion to proceedings.
I think we’ll go four sets here if not five given the way the two men are playing and pounding the tennis ball. Cilic has regularly won sets against Federer and while he has not always been able to string three winning sets together he does cause Federer problems. Ultimately I think the greatest ever will prevail here but not before we venture into at least a 38th game.
Tips
WON – Back Over 37.5 games for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Boylesports
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