Cilic in second round of Chennai Open

Chennai, Jan 5 (IANS) Third seed Marin Cilic of Croatia underlined his talent with a quick 6-4, 6-4 demolition of Alberto Martin of Spain to enter the second round of the $450,000 ATP Chennai Open tennis tournament here today.

The 20-year old Croatian, ranked 27th and a semi-finalist here last year, was clearly a step ahead of his opponent and was rarely in trouble as he finished the match in a little over 90 minutes on the centre court.

So much so that the 99th ranked, 30-year-old Spaniard spent much of the time retrieving rather than attacking.

Cilic, who won his maiden ATP title at New Haven last year, showcased his all-round game with some blistering groundstrokes, finely angled shots and deft placements that left Martin chasing shadows.

Meanwhile, on the outside courts, two other Spaniards, Daniel Gimeno-Traver and Santiago Ventura also made their exit.

Ventura went down 2-6, 5-7 to Germany's Bjorn Phau in a battle between two journeymen, while Gimeno-Traver had little to offer against German Simon Greul who came through 6-4, 6-3.

The results (1st round, seedings in prefix: Simon Greul (GER) bt Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 6-4, 6-3; Bjorn Phau (GER) bt Santiago Ventura (ESP) 6-2, 7-5; Marin Cilic (CRO) bt Alberto Martin (ESP) 6-4, 6-4.