Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships—Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Cilic Stuns de Minaur to Advance to Dubai Open Second Round
Former US Open champion Marin Cilic turned back the clock on Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, defeating No. 2 seed and world No. 8 Alex de Minaur from Australia 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Needing two hours and 17 minutes to advance, Cilic hit three aces, won 69 percent of his first serve points, and broke his opponent on four occasions.
Currently ranked No. 187 in the world, Cilic will next face Montreal Masters winner Alexi Popyrin for a place in the quarterfinals. Popyrin ousted Hady Habib from Lebanon 6-2, 6-4 on Monday.
Other winners on the day included Luca Nardi and Nuno Borges.
Nardi defeated Marton Fucsovics 1-6, 6-2, 6-3, and Borges upset No. 8 seed Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-1 in one hour and two minutes.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, who has had a great start to the year, dismissed Alexander Bublik 7-6(7), 6-7(4), 6-3.
The Canadian will next face Borges for a quarterfinal birth.
Matches that are still on deck on Tuesday will feature top seed Daniil Medvedev, No. 3 seed Andrey Rublev and Gael Monfils taking on Matteo Berrettini.
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