Marin Cilic begins his Hamburg campaign against qualifier Bastian Knittel.
Cilic is floundering slightly at the moment and one wonders whether the 22 year old is in need of a change of direction. It would maybe be better to reassess at the end of the season but for all the flashes of promise, the tall Croatian has proved infuriating for his fans at times this season.
He showed glimpses of what he can do during the clay-court swing, dominating David Ferrer in Rome but then he was beaten by Roger Federer, Juan Martin Del Potro and Rafa Nadal with consummate ease. No shame in that but it was the manner of the defeats which was most concerning, Cilic did not manage more than four games against either Del Potro or Nadal.
First round exits at the French Open and Wimbledon have left the Croatian needing to pick it up over the summer. He should have little problem initially against qualifier Knittel who outplayed his countryman Ivan Dodig in the opening round.
However sterner tests await, including in-form wildcard Tobias Kamke who crushed seventh seed Juan Ignacio Chela in the second round, and later on possibly Mikhail Youzhny.
However no of the big guns in the top half of the draw have been playing particularly well recently and if Cilic can play to his potential, he could definitely make the final here. However that is currently a big 'if.'
