Cilic locks down Tour finals berth

PARIS: Croatia’s Marin Cilic secured his place at this month’s Tour finals in London with a 6-3, 7-6 (11/9) victory over David Goffin at the Paris Masters on Thursday.

The 2014 US Open champion avenged three earlier defeats to Goffin this year to leave just one remaining spot in the eight-man field at the prestigious November 13-20 event.

Cilic edged an opening set that included five breaks of serve before rallying from 5-3 down to force a tie-break in the second.

The ninth seed failed to convert five match points, then saved a set point, but eventually closed it out in just under two hours.

“That was the goal of the season for me, to reach the Tour finals in London,” said Cilic, a previous participant in 2014.

“Obviously top eight in the world, that’s something all the players in the world are wishing for. It’s one of the best tournaments in the world.

“It’s definitely something special, so it’s great for me that I achieved it, especially in this kind of way in these last few weeks. I earned it, and that’s, for me, an even bigger plus.”