WHAT HAPPENED: This is what 40 looks like. Rafael Nadal dropped his first set of the tournament but ultimately dismissed fellow former US Open champion Marin Cilic in four, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, to advance to his 40th Grand Slam quarterfinal and ninth in Flushing Meadows.
By his own admission, Cilic needed to bring his very best tennis if he wanted to have any chance against the Spaniard. Nadal owns their head-to-head, 6-2, with Cilic only winning their first-ever encounter in 2009 as well as their quarterfinal match at the 2018 Australian Open, after Nadal was forced to retire. And although the Croat showed flashes of brilliance in the second set when he stepped in and blitzed winners from the baseline, Nadal's power and tenacity proved just too much to handle on the night.
Just how tough can it be to hang with Nadal? The course and complexion of the match really changed with one point. Fully engaged and ready to battle, Cilic had just taken the second set and was serving at 1-2, love-30 in the third. Cilic had the upper hand in the point, pushing the No. 2 seed far behind the baseline and forcing him to hit a defensive lob. Instead of smashing it away for a winner, Cilic hit the ball back at Nadal, who was able to get his racquet on it and throw up another defensive lob. Cilic was immediately put back on his heels as he hit the next shot, which gave Nadal the chance to step in and blaze a backhand winner.
The demoralizing exchange set up break point. Cilic promptly double-faulted, then lost the next seven games.
Before it was over, Nadal had time for one last highlight shot—an around-the-net-post winner reminiscent of Roger Federer's effort against Nick Kyrgios in 2018. The showstopper brought up match point from Nadal, who sealed his quarterfinal place with a forehand winner, his third in a row and 38th of the match.
WHAT IT MEANS: With the Spaniard advancing and No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic retiring against Stan Wawrinka on Sunday, tennis fans are just that much closer to a Federer-Nadal final at the US Open. The two have somehow never met in Flushing Meadows. First, though, Nadal will have to get through Diego Schwartzman, who took out No. 6 seed Alexander Zverev earlier in the day. Nadal is 7-0 against the Argentine, but they have played some tight matches, particularly in their three Grand Slam meetings (including a 2015 match here).
MATCH POINT: In the third set, Nadal incredibly lost just one point on his first serve, going 12 for 13. For the match, he won 44 of 53 first-serve points, good for 83 percent.
