Nalbandian to face Cilic for Queen's Club crown

Jun 16, 2012 - 4:50 PM London, England (Sports Network) - David Nalbandian of Argentina and Croatia's Marin Cilic won semifinal matches Saturday and will play for the title at the Queen's Club.

The sixth-seeded Cilic knocked off former Queen's Club champ Sam Querrey in the opening semifinal with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 triumph. Querrey was the 2010 champion of the Wimbledon tune-up.

Nalbandian, a Wimbledon runner-up 10 years ago, then polished off Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov, 6-4, 6-4.

Cilic will play in his second ATP final of 2012, having lost to Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany on clay in Munich last month. He was a third-round loser against Juan Martin del Potro at the French Open.

The 23-year-old Croat is 6-7 all-time in ATP finals and previously won a title last October in St. Petersburg, Russia. He has won a tournament in each of the past four years.

Nalbandian is 4-1 lifetime against Cilic, including 1-1 this year. The Argentine claimed a straight-set win in the second round at Indian Wells, but Cilic outslugged the 30-year-old veteran in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in April.

The 10th-seeded Nalbandian owns an 11-11 mark in title matches and hasn't won a crown since the summer of 2010 in Washington, DC. His last appearance in a final resulted in a loss to David Ferrer in Auckland last year.

Sunday's champion will pocket $100,000.