Marin Cilić

[Barty]

De Minaur, Cilic Dash Into 3R; Benneteau Bids Farewell

Spoiler:

Aussie, Croatian set third round clash in New York
Can anyone stop Alex de Minaur? The Aussie teen is blitzing the competition at the US Open and he earned a comprehensive win over fellow #NextGenATP Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 as Day 4 continued.

Fans on Court 17 were treated to a glimpse into the future as day turned to dusk on Thursday at Flushing Meadows. At No. 4 and No. 5 in the ATP Race To Milan, respectively, De Minaur and Tiafoe contested what could go down as a critical battle in both players' quests to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals.

It was just the second meeting in the budding rivalry between the Aussie and the American. De Minaur previously rallied from a set down to take a qualifying encounter at the 2017 Brisbane International.

"I'm very happy," said De Minaur. "Especially after Wimbledon where I had an amazing run. To be able to back it up in the next major, I'm really proud of my efforts. It shows how I'm doing things in the right direction. Just got to keep focused, keep trying to get better.

"I've known Frances for a very long time. Coming up in the juniors, all that. Obviously I'm a year younger than him. When I was playing the juniors, he was pretty much already playing seniors. But we've always been close. He's one of the nicest guys out there. Nothing but respect for him."

You May Also Like: Read & Watch: Federer Sets Kyrgios Clash
After dropping just three games in a first-round rout of Taro Daniel, the Sydney native surged out the gate against Tiafoe, relinquishing a mere four games through the opening two sets. Tiafoe showed flashes of his Top 50 game in the third set, breaking three times to force a fourth. But De Minaur's superior agility and defence rattled the Maryland native, who leaked 51 unforced errors.

De Minaur is riding a wave of momentum after reaching his biggest final at the Citi Open last month (l. to Zverev). He is into the third round for a second straight Grand Slam and first at the US Open. The Aussie joins Denis Shapovalov and Taylor Fritz as #NextGenATP stars still alive in New York. He will face 2014 champion Marin Cilic next.

Cilic was at his ruthless best in defeating Hubert Hurkacz 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 on Grandstand. The seventh seed has dropped just nine games en route to the third round. He conceded a mere 15 points on serve during the 79-minute affair.

"I think he's, with his style, a very consistent player, very tough physically as well, fast, plays great tennis," Cilic said about De Minaur. "Obviously very steady from the baseline, putting a lot of pressure, as well. He's got nice fighting spirit, which is nice to see with the youngsters. Definitely going to be a good challenge for me."

Benneteau
Julien Benneteau plays his final professional match on Thursday in New York

In other action, Julien Benneteau played the final match of his 18-year professional career. The former World No. 25 in singles and No. 5 in doubles succumbed to Jan-Lennard Struff in five sets, falling 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. The rollercoaster match lasted two hours and 58 minutes on Court 11, with Struff seizing seven of 11 break chances. He is enjoying his best run in New York in his fifth main draw appearance.

Benneteau bade farewell just two days after springing an upset over 22nd seed Marco Cecchinato, his 273rd victory at the tour-level. Highlights of the Frenchman's career include 10 ATP World Tour final appearances and eight victories over Top 5 opponents. Also a decorated doubles star, he lifted 12 tour-level trophies, including the Roland Garros title in 2014 with Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

Benneteau Lists Favourite Memories

"I don't really realize it," said Benneteau. "Some guys told me in the locker room, 'Now you know that you're not going to play ever, it must be a really strange feeling'. But I have to say that for the moment I don't feel this way. Maybe it's a little bit too early. Maybe it will take some time to absorb it and to have more emotions, some more feelings.

"I was still focused on the tournament, on trying giving everything I could to win this match. For the moment, I am just not disappointed after a loss because it's okay."

Struff will next face David Goffin on Saturday. Goffin, seeded 10th, dismissed an in-form Robin Haase 6-2, 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-2, booking his spot in the third round for the fourth time in five years. Haase, a quarter-finalist earlier this month at the Rogers Cup, had no answer for his Belgian opponent, who prevailed after two hours and 54 minutes.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/us ... naur-cilic

[Barty]

Epicki powrót Czili z 0-2 w setach przeciwko De Minurowi. 30-letni Chorwat wygrał wygrał swój 28. pięciosetowy mecz w karierze.

Najwięcej wygranych 5-setówek (aktywni gracze):
1. Roger Federer 30-21
2. Novak Djoković 29-9
3. Marin Cilić 28-14

[arti]

Cilic Completes Epic Two-Set Comeback At 2:22 AM

Spoiler:

Nobody will remember the score, but everybody will remember the moment.
Marin Cilic came back from two sets down to defeat #NextGenATP Australian Alex de Minaur 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 after three hours and 59 minutes, completing his victory at 2:22 am Sunday morning when he converted his eighth match point to advance to the fourth round of the US Open.
"[I'm] incredibly happy. It was just an insane atmosphere," Cilic said on court, before addressing the crowd. "Well done guys. Thank you. Thank you so much."
The 2014 champion is now 8-1 in five-setters in Flushing Meadows, moving into the second week at the year's final Grand Slam for the first time since 2015, when he reached the semi-finals. Cilic is 29-14 in all five-setters, and he has overcome a two-set deficit six times.
It appeared in the fifth set that the Croat would pull away and complete his comeback emphatically. But with a 5/2 0/40 lead on his 19-year-old opponent's serve, things got sticky. There's no other way to put it: De Minaur simply refused to lose. Cilic was unrelenting from the baseline with his powerful, flat groundstrokes. But this year's Sydney finalist played incredible defence point after point, scraping balls back that would be clean winners against many players, and somehow he ended up winning some of those points.
"Every time I step out on court, I tell myself that I'm going to play until the last point," said De Minaur. "He was going to have to beat me. Eventually that's what he did.
"But I did everything in my power to try and get back, every ounce of energy to try and push. I managed to come back, but then he was too good at the end."
nd after saving the first six match points he faced, De Minaur broke to get back on serve at 4-5 in the decider. The match looked destined to break the US Open's record for latest finish (2:26 am, three-way tie), but Cilic broke for the seventh time in the match to clinch the victory and seal the tournament's fourth-latest finish.
"Incredible fighting spirit. He was fighting his heart out and it was just an insane match. What a comeback he made from 5-2," Cilic said. "He played some amazing tennis and really a couple points were taking him from the victory. I was just a little bit luckier today."
One year ago, De Minaur was No. 186 in the ATP Rankings, and he had won just two tour-level matches. Now, he is projected to crack the Top 40, and the Aussie is also currently in fourth place in the ATP Race To Milan as he attempts to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals.
"Right now I'm completely devastated, but it's a great learning experience for me," said De Minaur. "I played at a very high level, pushed a quality opponent. It just shows that experience at the end of the day.
" looking forward to playing more of these five-set matches and being able to hopefully have the opportunity to finish it off."
The No. 7 seed Cilic will now have to recover to face 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up David Goffin. The Belgian star impressively dismissed German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-1, 7-6(4) in two hours, 14 minutes. Goffin leads Cilic 3-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, but the former US Open champion has won their two most recent meetings.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ci ... 18-day-six

[Żilu]

[grzes430]

[Barty]

Cilic Books Nishikori Quarter-Final Showdown

Spoiler:

Croatian rebounds from four-hour-plus thriller to deny No. 10 seed Goffin
Marin Cilic will face Kei Nishikori in a quarter-final rematch of the 2014 US Open final after a convincing straight-sets routing of Belgian David Goffin at Flushing Meadows on Monday. Having emerged victorious from two sets down in a four-hour battle to deny #NextGenATP Aussie Alex De Minaur in his previous match, there were few such problems for the No. 7 seed against Goffin.

A champion at Flushing Meadows four years ago, the Croatian had lost 11 of his past 12 matches against Top 10 opponents. But against the No. 10 in the ATP Rankings he ran out a 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-4 victory. Despite falling behind a break of serve in the opening game of the match, Cilic soon settled and began to find his rhythm against the recent Western & Southern Open semi-finalist.

The Croatian managed to break as Goffin served for the set at 5-4 and it proved the turning point of the match. Having forced the tie-break, Cilic secured the opening set on his second set point when the Belgian wildly misfired on a backhand down the line.

You May Also Like: Nishikori Rolls Into Third US Open Quarter-final
Despite only landing 33 per cent of his first serves midway through the second set, Cilic still managed to fend off break points to hold for 4-2 and after that escape he rammed home the advantage, cracking a crisp crosscourt backhand winner to secure the double break and served it out when Goffin fired long on the return.

Surging comfortably towards a quarter-final berth, Cilic received a time violation warning when serving for the match at 5-4, 0/30, but it merely served to fire him up. He thumped back-to-back aces and steadied to whip a crosscourt forehand winner on his third match point.

Nishikori will carry an 8-6 FedEx ATP Head2Head lead into the quarter-final showdown. The Japanese No. 21 seed claimed their most recent clash in a quarter-final on clay in Monte-Carlo this season.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ci ... 018-monday

[Damian]

[arti]

[Damian]

Wszystkiego najlepszego Marin!

Czyli co pierwszy raz w Erze Open nie mamy już zwycięzcy turnieju wielkoszlemowego który byłby poniżej 30-tki.

[Lucas]

[grzes430]

Cilic: "I Always Feel Good" In Tokyo

Spoiler:

Croatian has a 9-5 record in the Japanese city

When Marin Cilic was 17 years old, he traveled to Japan for the first time to compete at a junior tournament in Osaka. The Croatian remembers beating Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in the final in front of 4,000 people, a massive crowd for a player that age.

“That was something for a junior tournament,” Cilic said, cracking a smile, on Sunday. “I still have nice memories from there and even when I was playing here for the first time in Tokyo in the qualifying in 2006, it was a great experience. I’ve always enjoyed coming back, and I always have a nice connection with Japanese culture.”

Cilic will look to channel that connection into his first title at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2018, where he is the top seed. The World No. 6 has already immersed himself in the city, going to a steakhouse in Roppongi — a district in Tokyo — to celebrate his 30th birthday, which was on Friday.

“The culture here is something that I am always looking forward to come back to. The Japanese crowd is always so respectful. They love me here. They always give me good support, even going back a lot of years in the past,” Cilic said. “I enjoy being here. Tokyo is one of the nicest cities in the world, a lot of things to see as well, a lot of things to experience. Japanese culture is so historical and I always feel good here, from day one to the last day.”

Perhaps that is what has allowed Cilic to perform at a top level in Tokyo over the years. He has made the semi-finals the last two seasons, and he also advanced to the quarter-finals in 2015.

“The last couple of years were quite successful,” Cilic said. “I haven’t made it to the last step of the tournament. But last year, playing the semis was still a very good result and hopefully this year I can go one or two steps further. That would be a great result. [I’m] still hoping that I can play well. Again this year it’s a great field of players. It’s going to be a very interesting tournament and we’ll see how it’s going to unfold.”

Cilic arrives in Japan in good form, reaching the last eight at six of his past seven events. Currently in sixth position in the ATP Race To London, the Croatian is also in a good spot to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fourth time, and for the third year in a row.

“It’s going to be an interesting end of the year,” Cilic said. “My goal, as in the beginning of the year, is to try to finish in the Top 5 [of the ATP Rankings] at the end of the season and still again hoping that I can make the [Nitto ATP] Finals for the fourth time. Even though it’s going to be a busy schedule, I’m trying to focus on taking it step by step, week by week, trying not to look too much in front.”

That starts with focusing on his first match in Tokyo, where he opens against German Jan-Lennard Struff.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ci ... 18-preview

[Żilu]

[Damian]

[Damian]

Basel Success: Cilic is the other former Basel champion in the draw. The 30-year-old Croat has a 13-4 record at the event, winning the title two years ago and reaching the semi-finals last year. He captured his 18th tour-level title at the Fever-Tree Championships and was runner-up at the Australian Open.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/sc ... ienna-2018

[Damian]

Former Champ Cilic Finds Winning Stride In Basel

Spoiler:

Croatian looking to win his second Basel title this week
Third seed Marin Cilic won his first tournament match since 3 September on Monday at the Swiss Indoors Basel. The 2016 champion routed #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-2.

Cilic raced to a 4-0 lead in the first before Shapovalov came back. But the Croatian rode two breaks and benefitted from 23 unforced errors from the left-hander in the second set to reach the second round, where he'll face either Romanian Marius Copil or Ryan Harrison of the U.S.

You May Also Like: When Roger Thought He'd Never Win Basel
Cilic, after reaching the US Open quarter-finals (l. to Nishikori), endured a pair of close losses during the Asian swing. The top seed twice served for the match in his Tokyo opener against Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff but fell in three sets. In Shanghai, Cilic held two match points but Chilean Nicolas Jarry sprung the upset.

The Croatian is looking to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 11-18 November at The O2 in London, for the fourth time. Cilic is in sixth place in the ATP Race To London and next in line to qualify.

Earlier in Basel, #NextGenATP American Taylor Fritz earned his first Basel win, beating Serbian qualifier Laslo Djere 6-0, 7-5. The 20-year-old Fritz will make his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan next month.

Eight players will compete at the 21-and-under event, to be held 6-10 November at the Fiera Milano, and only two direct qualification spots remain. The eighth and final position will be reserved for the winner of an all-Italian qualifying tournament to finish 4 November.

Watch Live

Zverev Fight To Reach Doubles QFs

Germans Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev battled back to beat Americans Nicholas Monroe and Jack Sock 4-6, 7-6(2), 10-4 in one hour and 35 minutes for a place in the quarter-finals. The brothers won five of the first six points in the Match tie-break.

Elsewhere, third seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau knocked out Dutchmen Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop 6-3, 6-4 in 55 minutes, while fourth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Marcel Granollers swept past Spanish qualifiers Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and David Marrero 6-1, 6-4 in 58 minutes.

More Stories Like This In: Basel Match Report 2018 Marin Cilic

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[Lleyton]

[arti]

[Lleyton]

[Lleyton]

ilic’s Chance: Cilic seeks his fourth Nitto ATP Finals appearance in the past five years. The Croat has won an ATP World Tour title in each of the past 11 seasons and earned at least 35 wins in 10 of 11. Cilic knocked Djokovic out of the top spot in the ATP Rankings at the 2016 Rolex Paris Masters, ending Djokovic’s 122-week reign as No. 1.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/10 ... paris-2018

[arti]

Cilic Continues Charge For London With Win Over Rival

Spoiler:

Marin Cilic is making a push to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fourth time this week at the Rolex Paris Masters. And the Croatian made a good start on Tuesday, defeating longtime rival Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-4 in just one hour and 12 minutes.

"I'm really happy. I felt I played good tennis. I started great, served really well," Cilic said. "Kohlschreiber is a quality player. We played this year in Indian Wells where he played a great match, he beat me there. I had to stay focused throughout the end of the match. 4-0, break point, could have gone even easier in that second set but I had to keep my head down, work until the end and play good tennis."

For a player attempting to book his spot at The O2 in London from 11-18 November, the sixth seed did not get an easy draw against Kohlschreiber, who had previously held a 7-4 FedEx ATP Head2Head lead against the Croatian. But Cilic earned his fifth straight-sets victory against the World No. 43 to reach the third round, where he will face 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov or Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

Watch Live

It was a strong bounceback performance for Cilic, who broke Kohlschreiber three times and won 44 per cent of first-serve return points. Cilic arrived in Paris having lost four of his previous five tour-level matches. An appearance in the Bercy semi-finals would guarantee the fifth seed a spot in the season finale.

"I'm keeping my form good, feeling that I'm playing well," Cilic said. "It's the end of the year, a lot of challenges are coming up. We're playing a big tournament here in Paris and I'm hoping I'm going to continue playing good tennis."

In other action, Tokyo champion Daniil Medvedev cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta. The three-time tour-level titlist, making his debut at the Paris event, dropped only one point behind his first serve (27/28) throughout the 48-minute encounter to set a second-round meeting against Rolex Shanghai Masters runner-up Borna Coric.



Medvedev's compatriot and Russian No. 1, Karen Khachanov, advanced to the third round after just 45 minutes. The VTB Kremlin Cup winner led Matthew Ebden 6-2, 2-0 when the lucky loser was forced to retire.

In their third tour-level meeting of the season, Marton Fucsovics overcame French qualifier Benoit Paire 6-4, 6-4. The Geneva titlist earned his second FedEx ATP Head2Head victory (2-1) over Paire after 76 minutes, notching his 25th tour-level victory of the season.

Did You Know?
Cilic is bidding to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the third straight year and fourth overall. The Fever-Tree Championships winner first qualified in 2014, before back-to-back appearances in 2016 and 2017.

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