Roddick's physio no match for Marin's mentor

Reuters

CLOSE CALL: Andy Roddick of the US plays a return to Marin Cilic of Croatia during their men's singles quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne.

In the end, it was a victory for the psychiatrist over the physiotherapist. Marin Cilic, the rising 21-year-old, overcame the doubts that had gripped him when victory loomed to advance to his first grand slam semifinal and, consequently, become the first Croatian man to reach that stage at an Australian Open.

Andy Roddick, the still unfulfilled 27-year-old, could not overcome the slow start caused by an injured shoulder and left yet another grand slam having failed to add to the lone major trophy he collected at the US Open more than six years ago.

The 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3 scoreline told the story of a match that twice looked certain to provide contrasting results, with the Croatian first romping to an apparently comfortable victory over a stricken opponent, then Roddick poised to record a heroic come-from-behind victory over a young man whose mind had imploded, followed closely by his game.

''I lost a little bit my balance on the court, didn't know what to do,'' admitted Cilic about his sudden fade-out in the third set. ''But I gathered my thoughts a little bit in the fifth set and played point by point and eventually got my chance. I'm pretty happy about that.''

The quarterfinal turned on the three break points Cilic faced in the opening game of the fifth set. Somehow, a serve that had misfired badly in the preceding sets hauled the Croatian out of a deep hole.

''Saving those three points in the fifth, that was so big for me,'' said Cilic, who broke Roddick at 2-2 and, this time, controlled his nerves to complete the most momentous victory of his young career.

Cilic is coached by Australian Bob Brett, a somewhat enigmatic figure who has previously guided the careers of, among others, Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic. There has been a long-held hope Brett would return to Australia to help local youngsters. Instead, he is in the corner of the young star who has emerged as the wildcard in this event.

''He has so much experience on this level, he brings me a lot of belief and psychological calmness,'' said Cilic of Brett's influence. ''I always do well in the grand slam and one of the main reasons is that. Without him, this would be really tough to achieve.''

If he somehow pulled his mind together, Cilic's major problem in the semi-finals could be how well he can soothe a body that has been hauled through three five-setters - a second-round nail-biter against Australian Bernard Tomic, a fourth-round epic with fourth seed Juan Martin Del Potro and yesterday's arduous battle with Roddick.

Cilic shrugged away the prospect of fatigue during an on-court interview. ''I can go one more five-set,'' he said. ''Why not?''

Later, however, Cilic confessed his workload had taken a toll. ''Definitely my legs are heavy,'' he said. ''I'm going to have to sleep, eat good. We will see what we can do in the semis.''

Roddick will curse his own fate in five-setters, having been beaten in the last three grand slams in matches that went the full distance. He entered yesterday's match having missed a practice session because of a shoulder that became sore in another five-setter against Fernando Gonzalez in the fourth round.

''It felt pretty good in the warm-up and the first couple of games and I think I aggravated something,'' said Roddick, who kept playing after the second set only when assured by a trainer he was not risking long-term damage to his shoulder.

''I was numb in the two bottom fingers. I could still hit it pretty hard, I just had problems controlling it. I just didn't have the full deal.''

While clearly disappointed by yet another grand slam failure, Roddick was complimentary about Cilic, saying he ''holds it together'' better than most young players. More tightly in the first, second and fifth sets than the others. But that was just enough.

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