Marin Cilic rolls after slow start

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Comments0
• Email
• Print

VALENCIA, Spain -- Marin Cilic of Croatia recovered from a shaky start to beat Slovakia's Martin Klizan 1-6, 6-0, 6-3 in the first round of the Valencia Open on Sunday.

Klizan saved five break points while breaking Cilic's serve twice to easily take the first set on the indoor hard court at the City of Arts and Sciences.

The seventh-seeded Cilic, who has won two tournaments this year, turned things around to roll through the second set before clinching the decider.

Top-seeded David Ferrer, second-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and last year's runner-up Juan Monaco have yet to play in the first round.

Former No. 1-ranked Juan Carlos Ferrero will retire after the tournament. The hometown favorite faces fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in the first round.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Comments0
• Email
• Print
• Subscribe