BASEL, Switzerland (AP) -- Fourth-seeded Marin Cilic won his first round match at the Swiss Indoors on Wednesday, defeating Philipp Petzschner of Germany 6-4, 6-4.
The 21-year-old Croat broke Petzschner's serve in the fifth game of each set.
Cilic, a wild-card entry in Basel, can still make a run at qualifying for the ATP Tour finals in London this month. He likely needs to win the Swiss Indoors and advance several rounds at the Paris Masters next week.
Cilic is 12th in the points race with only the top eight qualifying for London.
James Blake fell to Jeremy Chardy of France, 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 4-6.