Marin Cilic v Steve Johnson Live Streaming, Prediction & Preview for Cologne Open: Cilic Expected an Easy Opener

Felix Auger-Aliassime v Marin Cilic Live Streaming, Prediction
Photo Credit: Bruno Girin

Veteran Croat Marin Cilic faces American Steve Johnson in the first round of the 2020 Cologne Open on Monday, October 19 with the match expected to begin at 8 pm local time (7 pm BST or 2 pm Eastern Time). Get the live streaming options of this Marin Cilic v Steve Johnson match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.

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Marin Cilic v Steve Johnson Head to Head

This is bit of a one-sided rivalry between these two players with Cilic having won all five of their matches – two on grass, two on hard court and one on clay with one other match conceded by Johnson because of injury. Their last meeting came at the French Open in 2018.

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Not the Best Resumption for Johnson

It hasn’t been the most terrific of returns for Johnson since the resumption of tennis in August. The American, who played in the World TeamTennis as a way to get into some kind of a rhythm during the break, has played in four tournaments since and progressed not beyond the second round in any of them.

At the Cincinnati Masters, he fell in the first qualifier, while he made the round two at the US Open. Never too fond of clay, he managed to collect just two games in his straight-set defeat at the French Open before winning a round last week at Cologne.

Once ranked 21st in the world, the glory days might be behind the 30-year-old Johnson but he could still look at his performances on the Challenger circuit to give himself some hope and confidence. He started off with a title win at the Bendigo Challenger, made the semifinal at the Newport Beach Challenger and then clinched another tournament victory in Indian Wells – just before the season made a premature end.

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Cilic Looking To Resurrect Season & Career

Marin Cilic spent most of the last decade ranked within the top ten in the world. He is the 2014 US Open champion, and a finalist at the 2017 Wimbledon and 2018 Australian Open respectively. The big serving Croat has been ranked as high as world number three and typically a familiar face in the second week of any major.

2019 was a dismal year for Cilic, with injuries and disappointing form and dropping out of the top 40 in the ATP rankings. The Croat started the year well, losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Milos Raonic, but showing glimpses of his old self, especially in a five set win against Roberto Bautista Agut, in the third round.

The Croat’s return to the season on both clay and hard courts were far from impressive by his lofty standards. He lost to younger legs at the Western & Southern Open and the Italian Open, losing to Denis Shapovalov and Casper Ruud respectively, where as at both the French & US Open, he was unlucky to return into world number three Dominic Thiem early on and lost on both.

Cilic v Johnson Prediction and Tip

This has all the indications of a straight-set win for Cilic with Johnson’s poor form being a contributing factor to it.

Tip: Cilic to win in straight sets: 10/11 (bet365)

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The Cologne Open 2020 will be played from October 19 to 25. You can watch & bet on the Cologne Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.

About Suneer Chowdhary 2122 Articles
Suneer is a Mumbai-based freelance sports journalist with a special affinity towards cricket and tennis. He has also covered six ICC tournaments including Cricket World Cups and Champions Trophy.

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