US Open 2018 Men's Round-Up: Cilic survives epic De Minaur battle, Kohlschreiber upsets Zverev
ByReuters
Updated 02/09/2018 at 09:03 GMT
Seventh seed Marin Cilic was forced to recover from two sets down to battle past Australian teenager Alex de Minaur 4-6 3-6 6-3 6-4 7-5 in a marathon contest that went deep into the night at the U.S. Open on Saturday.
Croatia's Marin Cilic celebrates after defeating Australia's Alex de Minaur during their 2018 US Open men's round 3 tennis match early on September 2, 2018 in New York. - Marin Cilic defeated 19-year-old Australian Alex de Minaur 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 t
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Cilic, the 2014 champion, may have been justified in expecting an easier pathway past the third round, but the 19-year-old De Minaur has already earned a reputation for having an abundance of fighting spirit in his relatively short career.
Where his compatriot Nick Kyrgios slumped to a tame loss at the hands of Roger Federer earlier in the day, De Minaur started on the front foot, running down everything Cilic sent over the net to carve out a 2-0 lead.
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Marin Cilic
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Cilic rallied behind his big serve but De Minaur made the Croatian work hard for every point all the way to the bitter end at 2.22 a.m. local time (0622 GMT), only a few minutes short of the latest ever finish at the U.S. Open.
"Incredibly happy, it was just an insane atmosphere," Cilic said on the Louis Armstrong Stadium court after setting up a last 16 meeting with David Goffin.
"Incredible fighting spirit. He played some amazing tennis. I was just a little bit luckier today.
"It doesn't get any better. What time is it? Two-thirty in the morning and everybody staying around? To come from two sets down, it's one of the best matches in my career."
An out-of-sorts Alexander Zverev was dumped out of the third round on Saturday after losing a fierce battle of wills with compatriot Philipp Kohlschreiber in four sets.
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Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany shakes hands with Alexander Zverev of Germany following their men's singles third round match on Day Six of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 1, 2018 in the Flushing neighbor
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The Germans were meeting for the fifth time with Zverev having won the last two encounters but there was little the fourth seed could do to stop an inspired Kohlschreiber, who won 6-7(1) 6-4 6-1 6-3 at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The versatile 34-year-old showed none of the mental fragility that has dogged him in the past, recovering well after being trounced in a first set tiebreak to set up a last 16 meeting with either Kei Nishikori.
MEN'S RESULTS
- No. 2 Roger Federer def. No. 30 Nick Kyrgios, 6-4, 6-1, 7-5
- Philipp Kohlschreiber def. No. 4 Alexander Zverev, 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3
- No. 6 Novak Djokovic def. No. 26 Richard Gasquet, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3
- No. 7 Marin Cilic def. Alex de Minaur, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5
- No. 10 David Goffin def. Jan-Lennard Struff, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6(4)
- No. 21 Kei Nishikori def. No. 13 Diego Schwartzman, 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 7-1
- Joao Sousa def. No. 17 Lucas Pouille, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(5)
- John Millman def. Mikhail Kukushkin, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
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