WHAT HAPPENED: Dominic Thiem continued his march through the lower half of the men’s singles draw with a 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 takedown of 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic on Saturday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Austrian was masterful in the first two sets of his third lifetime meeting with the No. 31-seeded Croatian, as he sprinted out of the gates and seized hold of a two-sets-to-love lead before Cilic knew what hit him. In those two sets, Thiem ripped 18 winners, committed just four unforced errors and broke serve four times on seven opportunities.
"He came out a little bit slow and I took all my chances, basically," Thiem said. "I was returning well."
Cilic redoubled his efforts in the third set and managed to put a dent in Thiem's armor. He broke for 4-2 and later saved two break points while serving at 5-3 to force a fourth set.
The Croatian threatened to build on his momentum in the fourth but Thiem saved three break points to hold for 3-2 before breaking critically for 4-2 in the next game.
"I felt a little bit flat," said Thiem. "Normally the crowd helps you with these moments. I was two break points down and played a little bit all-or-nothing and it paid off, luckily. Somehow I got my energy back and broke in the next game."
Thiem saved another pair of break points to close out the match; he won the final four points with a flourish from 15-40.
WATCH: Thiem-Cilic Round 3 Highlights
WHAT IT MEANS: Forget about the Austrian’s head-scratching loss to Filip Krajinovic at the Western and Southern Open last week: by hurdling past Cilic, the Austrian has officially played his way into hard-court form. The No. 2 seed has demonstrated that he's made the necessary adjustments to the fast-playing surfaces of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and he’ll head into the second week as the slight favorite to reach the final in a stacked half of the draw that also includes last year's runner-up, Daniil Medvedev, and last year’s surprise semifinalist, Matteo Berrettini.
Though he wobbled a tad in set three, Thiem will take confidence from his victory over Cilic, a US Open juggernaut who entered the evening with a lifetime record of 38-10 in New York.
“Not 100 percent yet, I still have to raise my level if I want to go deeper,” Thiem said. “It’s getting better and better. Today was a good win against a big champion, against a great player. That should give me also a boost.”
While Medvedev and Berrettini could clash in the quarterfinals, the Austrian stands to benefit from the fact that the other three players standing between him and a semifinal berth (No. 15-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime, No. 21-seeded Alex de Minaur and unseeded Vasek Pospisil) have never been past the quarterfinals of a major before.
Thiem will meet Auger-Aliassime for the first time in the Round of 16.
“I think he has huge star potential,” said Thiem. “Unbelievable athlete, good-looking. So he has everything, basically.”
MATCH POINT: With Cilic’s loss, the US Open men’s singles draw features only one former men’s singles champion in the Round of 16 (Novak Djokovic). The last time only one former Grand Slam champion reached the fourth-round of a Slam was Roland Garros 1998.
