Cilic ends Murray´s 22-match unbeaten run in Cincinnati
Andy Murray saw his 22-match unbeaten run ended as he suffered a straight-sets loss to Marin Cilic in the Western and Southern Open final.
The double Olympic champion was never quite at his best, struggling to match the power of the Croatian who served superbly throughout his 6-4 7-5 victory.
Cilic had won only two of his previous 13 clashes with Murray, but the man ranked 14th in the world was good value for the victory, which earned him a 15th career singles title and first at ATP 1000 level.
Murray started brightly, holding to love in his opening two service games and forcing Cilic to save a break point, before the Croat broke to go 3-2 up.
The 27-year-old right-hander then broke again to make it 5-2 and survived a break back from Murray to see the set out.
A visibly irritated Murray then repeatedly voiced his displeasure at the noise of the wind in the umpire’s microphone which he claimed was distracting him, but still managed to improve during the opening exchanges of the second set.
The 11th game proved crucial, however, as, at the fifth attempt, Cilic finally managed to secure a break of serve to go 6-5 up before calmly holding to seal a deserved victory.
