Russia’s Aslan Karatsev, seeded number two, and Croatian Marin Cilic, number six, will play in the Kremlin Cup final on Sunday offering more than $ 700,000 in prizes.
Karatsev eliminated his compatriot and number three in the Moscow tournament, Karen Khachanov by 7-6 (7) and 6-1 in one hour and 42 minutes. The semifinalist at the Australian Open saw them and wished to surpass Khachanov, who won this tournament in 2018, in sudden death (9-7). But once that obstacle was overcome, he dominated his opponent at will, who seemed to lower his arms as the minutes passed.
For his part, Cilic, who had eliminated Spanish Pedro Martínez in the quarterfinals, defeated Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis, two years younger, 6-3 and 6-4 in an hour and a half. The ten direct aces of the Croatian giant allowed him to take the game against an opponent who was not very successful in service.
Cilic number 39 in the world, became number three in the world in 2018 and won the US Open in 2014. The Balkan already knows what it is to win in Moscow. He did so in 2014 and 2015, defeating Spanish Roberto Bautista in both finals.
The final of the last edition of the Kremlin Cup – the pandemic forced it to be canceled in 2020 – in 2019 faced the Russian Andrei Rublev and the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, with victory of the second. Indeed, Mannarino eliminated Rublev, but was beaten in the quarters by Berankis.
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