Marin Cilic's debut appearance at the ATP World Tour Finals is fast turning into a nightmare after his second consecutive drubbing at the O2 Arena on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old Croat, who qualified by virtue of winning the US Open in September, arrived with high hopes but so far he has managed a mere six games in two matches.
A 6-1, 6-1 thrashing by World No 1 Novak Djokovic was followed on Wednesday by a 6-3, 6-1 defeat by Tomas Berdych.
"It's, of course, a little bit disappointing to play like this. I was not expecting it," Cilic, whose powerful serve and forehand have deserted him this week, told reporters.
"But sort of I feel a little bit tired, and the body feels a little bit tired on the court.
"It seems that the things that I'm doing are all basically going in the wrong direction. With these guys at this kind of level, even small mistakes, or if you're not at your best, the outcome is not going to be in your favour.
"Both matches I've played, I didn't play a good level. That's tough to handle."
The small matter of $155,000 just for qualifying for the elite eight-man tournament helps, of course, and Cilic said he would go out with all guns blazing against Stanislas Wawrinka in his final group match, which, barring an improbable series of results will be his last match of a memorable year.
"I think there'll be more pressure on Stan, that he has to win," Cilic said. "I'm going to try to enjoy and perform well on Friday."
Not even the presence of inspirational former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, his coach, has been able to inspire Cilic this week and he said maybe if he could have borrowed his fellow Croat's notorious serve it might have helped.
"His serve is still, I would say, one of the best motions that the game has seen," he said. "It would have been interesting to bring it on for a couple of points."
