Marin Cilic progressed to round two at Wimbledon today, beating Hiroki Moriya 6-3 6-2 7-6.

The reigning US Open champion was quick out of the blocks, breaking immediately to take a 2-0 lead in the first set. The power in his shots was proving to be too much for Moriya to handle, even early on, and this allowed him easily outhit his opponent on points, especially during rallies.

Moriya changed his tactics midway through the first set to a more attacking approach with plenty of net play, and this saw him test Cilic more on his serve, but when he did see break points, the Japanese was unable to take them and his opponent would go on to comfortably take the first set 6-3.

The Croat had been far from spectacular, conserving his energy and being able to see off his opponent without really getting out of second gear. With an hour gone, the ninth seed then took the second set 6-2 as well, again showing his superior ability and experience at the top level without really showing off. 

Testing third set

However, his slack play allowed Moriya to really pose a threat in set three, with it being much tighter than the previous two. The Croat broke early on to take a 3-1 lead and looked ready to storm through to round two, but Moriya made him pay for some half-hearted shots and broke back to keep the match alive. 

The two battled to take the game to a tiebreak, and Cilic got the first mini-break here to take a 3-1 lead. Another mini-break gave him his first match points, four to be exact, and, despite Moriya saving the first two, Cilic took the win on his third opportunity to win the tiebreak 7-4 and the match 6-3 6-2 7-6.

The Croat will face Richard Barankis of Lithuania in round two, who defeated Andreas Haider-Maurer earlier today as the Austrian was forced to retire through injury. The match was 6-2 5-2 in Berankis' favour when it was stopped, though the 25-year-old will feel he has a point to prove in the next round now after progressing in this manner.

Cilic will certainly need to up his game against the determined opponent, as he will be expected to comfortably defeat the man ranked 80th in the world.

Result

M Cilic (9) d H Moriya 63 62 76