Mardy Fish endured disappointment at the Pilot Pen for a second consecutive year after Marin Cilic overcame the American 6-4 4-6 6-2 in Saturday's final.

Fish lost out to compatriot James Blake in the title match of the hardcourt event 12 months ago and again came up short as number six seed Cilic won the first ATP final of his career.

Currently ranked 31st in the world, Cilic recorded 11 aces to Fish's five and did not serve a double-fault in a match that finished six minutes shy of the two-hour mark.

The 19-year-old won five of six break points en route to becoming the eighth first-time winner on tour this season and goes into next week's US Open full of confidence.

"I am feeling very excited," said Cilic.

"The match was a little bit thrilling. There were a lot of ups and downs from both of us but eventually in the third set, I got my thoughts back and my rhythm. I was really pumped up when I had to be.

"I had a great week, won matches against good players. I'm feeling physically well so I hope that I'm going to continue with this good form at the US Open and make some progress there."

For Fish, it was his ninth defeat in a final as a first title since Houston in 2006 eluded the 26-year-old.

"I would have liked to have played better," a despondent Fish conceded.

"This is my 11th final and I've only won twice. It's starting to really sting. I've got a lot of runner-up trophies in my office in my house. These are the ones I need to get.

"This was a great opportunity for me tonight, to get my third title. There are a lot of 'what if's' to look back on. I've been in a lot of finals of tournaments that I played."