MARIN CILIC REACHES WIMBLEDON FINAL

Croatian player Marin Cilic, ranked number 6 in the world, reached his first Wimbledon final on Friday after defeating American player Sam Querrey, ranked 28th, in four sets, with a score of 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), and 7-5.

The winner of the 2014 US Open became the second Croatian player to reach the final of the iconic London tournament, following his former coach Goran Ivanisevic, who won the title there in 2001. Cilic's opponent in the final on Sunday will be the winner of the semifinal match between Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych, which is also being played on Friday.

Cilic, who is currently coached by Swedish player Jonas Bjorkman, had to wait until his eleventh participation in Wimbledon to reach the final match of the tournament.

His best result in Wimbledon prior to 2017 was reaching the quarterfinals, where he was eliminated in the last three editions. Last year, he came close to reaching the semifinals but lost to Federer after squandering three match points.

This will be Cilic's second Grand Slam final, three years after winning the title in New York, where he defeated Federer in the semifinals and then beat Japanese player Kei Nishikori in the final.

In the match on Friday, on the center court, Cilic defeated a fellow giant of the same height (1.98 meters), prevailing in the "battle of aces" (25 aces against 13 by Querrey).

After letting an opportunity slip away in the first set - he had a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak - the 28-year-old Croat recovered from losing the first set to showcase his best tennis afterwards.

"It was a tough battle with a high level of play. He served really well in the first set. Then, I think I was better in the rest of the match and put him in more difficult situations," commented Cilic, who secured his fifth victory in as many matches against Querrey.