Cilic thrashes Altmaier for fast Melbourne start

MELBOURNE, Jan 19 : Former Australian Open finalist Marin Cilic turned back the clock with a ruthless display to beat Germany's Daniel Altmaier 6-0 6-0 7-6(3) in the first round at Melbourne Park on Monday.

The towering 37-year-old won the opening 12 games with minimum fuss to spark chatter of a rare Grand Slam main draw "triple bagel", which has been achieved by only five players, the last being Sergi Bruguera in the 1993 French Open.

Cilic, the 2018 runner-up at Melbourne Park, saved a breakpoint at the start of the third set to remain on track but Altmaier suddenly clicked into gear.

The German made it 1-1, and in doing so snapped a 25-game losing streak stretching back to his 6-3 6-0 defeat by Jaume Munar in the Adelaide International last week.

It was a much more evenly-contested match from there and Croatian Cilic had to rally in the tiebreak to close out the win.