Croatian Marin Cilic clinched a second straight Chennai Open crown on Sunday with a 7-6 7-6 victory over Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka. Second seed Cilic battled for two hours and 40 minutes to overcome the Swiss in a thrilling final to record his first win over the world number 21 in five meetings.
Third seed Wawrinka, Beijing Olympics doubles gold medallist with Roger Federer, broke the big-serving Cilic in the eighth game of the first set to open up a 5-3 lead. The 21-year-old Cilic broke back immediately with a series of powerful forehand winners and then levelled at five-all, thrilling a packed stadium crowd primarily cheering for the defending champion. Cilic won the first set tiebreak 7-2. Wawrinka saved two break points in the eighth game in the second set before Cilic again won a tiebreak to take the title.