2021 Australian Open First Round – Grigor Dimitrov vs Marin Cilic Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
Where is Grigor Dimitrov vs Marin Cilic taking place? Melbourne Park, Melbourne
When is Grigor Dimitrov vs Marin Cilic on and what time does it start? Monday 8th February, 2021 – not before 03:15 (UK)
Where can I get tickets for Grigor Dimitrov vs Marin Cilic? Click here to reach the official 2021 Australian Open ticket selection
What channel is Grigor Dimitrov vs Marin Cilic on? The 2021 Australian Open will be televised on Eurosport so it is worth checking their schedule for this specific match
Where can I stream Grigor Dimitrov vs Marin Cilic in the UK? Sky customers can stream this match on the Sky Go app. Alternatively, the match can be streamed to subscribers of Eurosport Player, either on the official website or as an add-on to an Amazon Prime subscription
THE LOWDOWN
GRIGOR DIMITROV
- Grigor Dimitrov had a difficult year on tour last season on and off the court as he and several other players contracted covid-19 at Novak Djokovic’s ill-advised Serbian exhibition tournament.
- This season the 29-year-old was able to beat Australians Andrew Harris and Alexei Popyrin before losing to Corentin Moutet in straight sets at the Murray River Open.
MARIN CILIC
- World number 43 Marin Cilic ended the 2020 season with a round of 16 defeat at the Paris Masters to rising star Ugo Humbert and lost his only match of 2021 to Jeremy Chardy on Monday.
- The 32-year-old leads Grigor Dimitrov 4-2 in their personal head-to-head record but the Bulgarian was the victor in their last meeting, a five-set second round match at the 2019 Roland-Garros.
THE PREDICTION
This looks to be one of the more high-profile first round matches at the Australian Open between world number 19 Grigor Dimitrov and number 43 Marin Cilic with six matches between them already. Cilic is the former Grand Slam champion of the pair with his 2014 US Open title and he has also come the closest of the pair at the Australian Open when he finished runner-up in 2018. Both players have reached a career-high third in the world over their careers too and this match appears on a knife-edge with neither at their best to start off 2021. It took five sets to separate them in their previous match and we should see both players win a set in this tussle. A result could go either way but given his better form to end 2020 Marin Cilic could just edge this one in four or five.
