AFP, Tokyo :
Top seed Marin Cilic crashed out of the Japan Open in a shock 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 defeat to Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round on Tuesday.
The former US Open champion looked to be in complete control after pocketing the first set with a brutal drive volley, but things quickly unravelled for the Croatian when Struff suddenly caught fire.
After Struff, ranked a whopping 50 places below Cilic at 56 in the world, had levelled the match, normal service appeared to have resumed in the deciding set.
Cilic, who reached the final of this year’s Australian Open, broke for 3-2 with a peach of a backhand that dipped viciously onto Struff’s toes, but the German struck back – not once, but twice – to force a tiebreak.
