WHAT HAPPENED: In the women’s bracket, Serena Williams showed that she still has some of her finest tennis remaining. Now on the men’s side, another former US Open champion is rekindling his best in time for a deep run in New York.
Croatian Marin Cilic, the 2014 champion, beat Brit Daniel Evans 7-6(11), 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5 on Saturday evening to reach the US Open fourth round for the first time since 2019.
“Another second week. It's fantastic achievement for me. I would say the best tournament throughout my career is here at US Open. Not just from 2014, but overall. Feeling fantastic here every time I do come,” he said.
Cilic blasted 74 winners in the topsy-turvy contest to set up a meeting against No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz, who was a straight-sets winner against American Jenson Brooksby earlier Saturday. The 19-year-old Spaniard leads their head-to-head 2-1, including a straight-sets win last month in Cincinnati.
But Cilic will be ready to match Alcaraz’s power hitting after never backing down against Evans. He denied the Brit back-to-back fourth-round showings in Flushing Meadows.
Cilic saved three set points before taking the 24-point first-set tiebreak. In the second, he was broken while serving for the set at 6-5, and Evans evened the third-round tilt when Cilic dumped a backhand slice into the net.
But Cilic took over in the third set, blending the big hitting that saw him beat Roger Federer in the 2014 US Open semifinals with deft touch and nimble movement. Evans made a run in the fourth, saving a match point in the 10th game. But Cilic broke to love in the 12th game when Evans sailed a forehand wide.
WHAT IT MEANS: The career renaissance for the 33-year-old Cilic adds another bullet point. Fifteen months ago, Cilic was ranked No. 47, his lowest spot since June 2008 and 44 places from his career-high.
But this year, Cilic has resembled more of the player who’s won 20 titles and made three Grand Slam finals. He advanced to the fourth round at the 2022 Australian Open and the semifinals at Roland Garros, his best showing in Paris. (COVID-19 kept him out of Wimbledon.)
MATCH POINT: Cilic won the 2014 US Open title ranked No. 16. He remains the lowest-ranked US Open men’s singles champion since No. 17 Pete Sampras in 2002. Cilic is currently No. 15.
