Cilic reaches home final

Umag - Marin Cilic defeated Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday to reach the final of the Croatia Open.

The fourth-seeded Cilic dropped serve only once in the match, at the start of the second set, before becoming the first Croat to reach the Umag final since Goran Prpic defeated compatriot Goran Ivanisevic in 1990.

"It was not as easy as it looks," Cilic said. "I had to play really hard to win. My serve went up and down, especially in the second set. But I am really happy how I played."

Fognini, seeded sixth, led 2-0 in the second set before losing six consecutive games. The 24-year-old Italian had been trying to reach his first ATP World Tour final. He is now 0-6 in semi-finals.

Fognini beat Cilic in straight sets in their only previous encounter, in 2009 in Monte Carlo.

"It was just the opposite of Monte Carlo. He played very good, I played bad," Fognini said. "I had a few chances but it was a bad match for me."

The start of the other semi-final Saturday between Ukraine's Aleksandr Dolgopolov and Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain was delayed because of rain.