Cilic toys with Tipsarevic on way to Chennai final

Defending champion Marin Cilic continued his winning streak against Janko Tipsarevic to enter the final of the 400,000-dollar ATP Chennai Open on Saturday. The world number 14 from Croatia triumped 6-1, 6-3 in a semi-final lasting 84 minutes to record his fourth successive win against the 38th-ranked Serbian. Second-seeded Cilic, favoured to retain the title after top seed Robin Soderling crashed out in the first round, plays either Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland or Dudi Sela of Israel in Sunday's final.

Cilic, who beat Tipsarevic in the quarter-final here last year, ran away with the first set in just 27 minutes after the Serb failed to hold his serve even once. Tipsarevic, seeded fourth, was broken again in the first game of the second set, allowing Cilic to dominate in front of 1,000 Indian fans at the Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium. "I know the crowd was with Janko, but I played to my potential and won," Cilic said on courtside after the match.