Marin Cilic hopes to continue his fine Zagreb record against Florian Mayer in Friday's quarter-finals.
Cilic recovered from a break down to defeat Igor Kunitsyn 7-6, 6-2 on Wednesday and move into the quarter-finals. Cilic has been so dominant in Zagreb over the past few years that he's lost just one set in eleven matches.
Once he found his groove against Kunitsyn he was in a similar vein of form, smashing down 10 aces. However the top seed was cautious looking ahead to his match with Mayer.
“I served well but I’ll have to be very careful on Friday against Mayer. It will be a very tough match. I lost to him at Wimbledon last year. It’s difficult to play against him,” he said.
Mayer battled past Radek Stepanek 7-6, 6-3, in the second round though Stepanek had his chances, missing five break points.
He's a tricky opponent though his best results have come on slower surfaces. However as Cilic said, he was outplayed by the German 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 in the first round of Wimbledon last summer.
Having said that, Cilic's form looks to be on an upwards curve at the moment and in front of his home supporters he should see off Mayer in three.
