Number six seed Marin Cilic of Croatia has been handed a fairly comfortable opening round match against Japanese wildcard Yuichi Sugita at the 2019 Rakuten Japan Open on Monday, September 30. The match will start not before 1:40 pm local time (6 pm BST). You can find the Marin Cilic v Yuichi Sugita live streaming options, head-to-head, preview and predictions here.
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Marin Cilic v Yuichi Sugita Head to Head
This will be a first-ever meeting on tour.
Cilic Will Hope For Change Of Fortune
Exactly a year ago, Marin Cilic lost his opening round match at the Rakuten Japan Open to Jan-Lennard Struff. The Croat who is a two-time semifinalist at this event will hope for change of fortune this year when he plays home favorite Yuichi Sugita.
The sixth seed in the midst of his worst ever season on tour since 2013. Cilic ascended to as high as World No.3 following a runner-up finish at the 2018 Australian Open, is currently ranked No.28 in the world – his lowest standing since June 2014.
The Croatian has endured a tumultuous campaign with a succession of injuries and lack of form becoming evident throughout. However, the 18-time ATP tour-level champion will see this as an opportunity to push towards the top of the sport. Cilic is also finding his best form which has eluded him for the major part of the year.
Since suffering a shocking second round loss to Joao Sousa at Wimbledon, he has reached quarterfinals in Washington and the Round of 16 at the Rogers Cup. He was also one of only two men to take a set off Nadal at the 2019 US Open where he lost to the Spaniard in round four.
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Sugita, One Of Three Japanese Wild Cards In The Draw
Yuichi Sugita possesses one tour-level title (won on the lawns of Antalya) and a career-high ranking of No.36, but he is currently ranked at No.129 in the world. His ranking had dropped as low as No.270 this year and played in a host of ITF and Challenger events.
Due to his low ranking, Sugita would lose in the qualifying rounds of tour-level tournaments more often than not this year and his still far from the dizzying heights of his career-best season of 2017 when he won the aforementioned title in Antalya along with semifinal showing in Chengdu and a handful of quarterfinal appearances.
Will Sugita repay back the Japanese faithful on a rare appearance in the main draw?
Cilic v Sugita Predictions & Tips
Cilic has suffered some bizarre losses this year, but it would be unthinkable to contemplate another one here particularly when you consider just how badly the Japanese has fared this year.
Tip: Under 21.5 games: 9/10 (888Sport)
The Cilic v Sugita match can be watched live with Unibet here on September 30, 2019. Also, get the latest tennis tips and predictions here.
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