Cilic comes through knee injury test

MELBOURNE: World number seven Marin Cilic tested a knee injury with the best possible result on Wednesday, but temperamental Nick Kyrgios’ poor start to the season continued at the Kooyong Classic.

Former US Open champion Cilic, who led Croatia to a Davis Cup trophy in November, skipped last week’s Maharashtra ATP tournament to rest. The wait was worth it as he posted a gritty 6-3, 4-6, 15-13 win over Kevin Anderson, recovering from 2-7 down in the new final-set tiebreaker that will be used at the Australian Open for the first time next week.

Under the rules, the first player to win at least 10 points by a two-point margin takes the match.Cilic, who was beaten by Roger Federer in an epic Australian Open final last year, said his knee was not a worry. South African world number six Anderson was battling jetlag after arriving in Melbourne following a title victory at the weekend in Pune, India. He is also relaxed about his form heading into the first Grand Slam of the season next week.

Kyrgios, who was knocked out in the second round at Brisbane last week, was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by friend and fellow comeback candidate Bernard Tomic in an all-Australian battle.