MARIN CILIC, MILOS RAONIC REACH US OPEN THIRD ROUND OF TENNIS

Written by: Staff on 3rd September 2015

MARIN CILIC, MILOS RAONIC REACH US OPEN THIRD ROUND OF TENNIS

epa04909620 Milos Raonic of Canada hits a return to Fernando Verdasco of Spain during their match on the third day of the 2015 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 02 September 2015. The US Open runs through 13 September, which is a return to a 14-day schedule. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

Defending champion Marin Cilic moved into the third round of the US Open on Wednesday as he defeated Evgeny Donskoy 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.

The ninth-seeded Croat struck 19 aces and converted five of his eight break points as he secured victory in just under two hours. Cilic goes on to face Mikhail Kukushkin.

Twelve months ago, Cilic celebrated the greatest moment of his tennis career as he defeated Kei Nishikori to win his first Grand Slam championship. Injury has hindered the right-hander’s progress this season, but he marked a return to top form and fitness with a run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals (l. to Djokovic) and reached the semi-finals in Washington at the start of the summer (l. to Nishikori).

Milos Raonic will swap one Spanish left-hander for another after he battled past Fernando Verdasco to set a third-round clash with Mardy Fish’s conqueror, Feliciano Lopez.

The 24-year-old Canadian endured some physical difficulties in the grueling conditions, including treatment on his lower back, but held off Verdasco to prevail 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(1) in just under three hours.

Raonic has had a frustrating season due largely to a right foot injury, which ultimately required surgery in May, forcing him to miss Roland Garros. Since his return to action, he had won just four matches coming into the US Open, enduring back-to-back first-round losses at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000s in Montreal (l. to Karlovic) and Cincinnati (l. to Lopez).

Raonic will have the chance to avenge his defeat to Lopez when the pair meets for the seventh time on Friday. The Toronto native is looking to reach the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the fourth year in a row.

( Courtesy if the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/us-open-2015-wednesday-cilic-raonic )

Topics: 2015 US Open, Atp World Tour, Flushing Meadows, Marin Cilic, milos raonic, New York, sports news, tennis update, US Open tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

September 3, 2015 at 9:39 am

-@cilic_marin, @milosraonic REACH @usopen THIRD ROUND OF TENNIS- http://t.co/LdSmAgphL1 #tennis #Raonic #Cilic #ATP #USOpen2015