Marin Cilic, World No. 6 and top seed at the Aircel Chennai Open, was stunned by qualifier Jozef Kovalik in his opening match on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old, ranked 111 places below the Croat, played perhaps the match of his career to oust the 2014 US Open champion and favourite 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-5.
“Not until the last game,” said Kovalik when asked if he really believed he could win. “I still can’t believe it.”
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Cilic was seldom allowed to own the middle of the court from where he is usually devastating.
Instead, the Slovak ran Cilic end to end, forcing him to hit on the run, thereby depriving him of the necessary weight he puts on his strokes.
In hindsight, one may see it as a match Cilic could have swung his way.
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He won 124 points to Kovalik’s 119 and hit 18 aces to eight. But so uncharacteristically subdued was he that there was rarely a passage of play when he seemed completely on top.
What was stark was Cilic’s hesitation to force the issue on the return games.
That Kovalik’s serve was not one bit threatening added to the intrigue. In each of the three sets, he had Kovalik by the scruff of the neck, only to let him off every single time.
In the opening set, at 2-2, he did not capitalise on two break-point opportunities. In the second set, up 4-1, he squandered two more.
His cardinal sin was that he then allowed Kovalik to restore parity at 5-5.
Cilic did go on to win the set after a long drawn 12th game.
With Kovalik serving at 3-4 in the third, Cilic had him at 0-30 and then at 30-40 but missed both chances.
At 5-5, the Slovak broke Cilic and served for the match. The victory did not come easily as he allowed Cilic another sniff.
Two more break points had to be saved before Kovalik would have the last laugh.
Later, Kovalik laughingly alluded to Cilic being completely unfamiliar with his game.
“I have seen him play in matches like the semifinals of Grand Slams,” he said. “He can’t see me because I am rarely on TV!”
“I could play freely. But he couldn’t because it would be really bad for him if he lost to me.”
In the end, it proved to be just that.
Later in the doubles, the Indian duo of Purav Raja and Divij Sharan outclassed Leander Paes and Andre Sa 6-4, 6-4 in just over an hour.