TennisSection previews the 2021 Queen’s Open as Alex De Minaur (4) meets Marin Cilic in the Quarter-Finals on Friday June 18th, 2021.
A close and interesting match is expected here at the 2021 Queen’s Open as fourth seeded Alex De Minaur will face Marin Cilic in the Quarter-Finals. Both men have been impressive so far this week and are seeking a spot in the Semi-Finals. Can Cilic win here to continue his fine grass court form? Or will the young Aussie advance to the Semi-Finals?
Alex De Minaur is the fourth seed here at the 2021 Queen’s Open and is currently ranked #22 on the ATP Tour. The Aussie has had a very inconsistent season, winning a title early on in the year in Antalya and struggling since. He has seemingly found some form here on the grass and reached the Quarter-Finals last week in Stuttgart before surprisingly losing to Jurij Rodionov and started impressively here, defeating countryman John Millman 6-1, 6-3. His next opponent, Croatian Marin Cilic is in fantastic form at the moment, winning the title in Stuttgart and despite his higher ranking, De Minaur should probably be considered the underdog here. With his “never say die” attitude and strong defensive skills he should never be discounted and he has a good chance of getting the win here to advance to the Semi-Finals.
Marin Cilic is unseeded here at the 2021 Queen’s Open, but is one of the most in-form grass court players at the moment. The tall Croat won the title last week in Stuttgart, impressively defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets in the Final. Cilic has a huge serve and big groundstrokes which are very effective on this surface, but one has to worry if fatigue will be an issue for him here. He surprisingly struggled in his opening match here in Queen’s against Sebastian Ofner, before defeating Fabio Fognini in straight sets to reach the Quarters. His 7-0 record on grass this season is very impressive, and he will be seeking to extend that here against Alex De Minaur. If he is able to keep his composure and unforced errors low, he is in with a fine chance of reaching the Semis here at the Queen’s Open.
This will be the second meeting between the two players on the ATP Tour, with Marin Cilic leading the head to head series 1-0. He won a tough five setter three years ago at the US Open, but that match has little to no bearing to this one. This is sure to be an interesting battle, and a classic “offense vs defense” clash. I think that it will be an extremely close match, but on this surface it is hard to overlook Marin Cilic here. Alex De Minaur is extremely hard to beat, but Cilic has found a groove on grass and should come away with a tight win here, improving his grass record to 8-0 this season and advancing the Semi-Finals here at the 2021 Queen’s Open.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Marin Cilic to win
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