Cilic's Second Chance

These two just faced off in the Davis Cup...

And Moutet won that match 7-5, 6-4. He managed to keep Cilic's 1st serve points won to 49% and 2nd serve points to 38%, just 46% points won on serve in total! However, that was on clay, and now they'll face on hardcourt instead, which should be a good thing for Cilic. Ever since his Wimbledon run, he hasn't won a match, and all his defeats have been in straight sets except for a three-set loss to Basavareddy. Moutet has been doing better, only losing to a great Royer and then just recently a tough three-setter against Zverev in Beijing.

It's clear that Cilic is not at his best, and when his game is not "clicking", there are not really a lot of solutions... especially against quick opponents who can get a lot of balls back. I think we can see some similarities in this match and the one Moutet just played against Griekspoor (also Big Server / Attacking Baseliner), where Griekspoor had his chances, but his low confidence and form made him unable to capitalize (Moutet 7/7 BPs saved, Griekspoor 0/2). I do like the matchup a bit less for Cilic, though, since he is not as good at closing points at the net, which is great against Moutet (in the words of my French colleagues, attack the backhand and rush the net). Will the faster conditions be enough to help Cilic, or will Moutet be able to repeat the same tactics with the same outcome?