DEFENDING CHAMP MARIN CILIC SURVIVES AGAINST JO WILFRIED TSONGA

Written by: Staff on 9th September 2015

DEFENDING CHAMP MARIN CILIC SURVIVES AGAINST JO WILFRIED TSONGA |

Marin Cilic, who defeated Kei Nishikori in the US Open final 12 months ago, is a step closer to a repeat performance thanks to a 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(3), 6-4 win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals on Tuesday. The Croat squandered a two-set lead, finally needing four hours and two minutes, as well as five match points, to advance.

“I came to the tournament knowing that I can play well here,” added Cilic. “I just needed a few matches to get into the rhythm, and that’s what happened. It was a great, great atmosphere. I really enjoyed the match.”

Before the tournament, Cilic had won his past three matches in straight sets against Tsonga, whose only tour-level victory in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry came at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati four years ago. However, the Frenchman was playing his best tennis in New York, having held all 56 service games en route to the quarter-finals.

The World No. 18’s serving streak was halted in the first set, as Cilic secured a late break, then served out the set. An hour and a half into the match, Tsonga was already down two sets to love. The 30 year old had only dug himself out of such a deficit on two previous occasions.

Under pressure, Tsonga rediscovered his rhythm on serve and took the third set without facing a break point. He saved three match points on his serve late in the fourth set before forcing a decider.

Cilic had already come through a marathon match earlier in the tournament against Mikhail Kukushkin, a five-setter, which was settled in four hours and 11 minutes. The defending champion took advantage of that experience, obtained the lone break of serve in the fifth set, and booked his spot in the semis on his fifth match point.

“To lose the fourth set after three-and-a-half hours, it was very, very difficult,” said Cilic “Extremely tough conditions today.

“I was asking myself, am I going to change anything for the fifth set if it comes, or then I’m going to keep going with the same game plan?” added Cilic. “Then I decided to stay mentally tough. I was thinking about the third and fourth sets. I didn’t play poorly. Jo came up with amazing shots in the critical points. Especially on all three match points that I had, he played great points.”

The Croat is appearing in his 31st Grand Slam tournament and now has a 75-29 career record. He has won 12 consecutive matches at Flushing Meadows and will face Novak Djokovic in the next round.

( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/cilic-beats-tsonga-to-move-into-semi-finals-us-open-2015 )

Topics: 2015 U.S. Open, Atp World Tour, Defending US Open champ, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Marin Cilic, Novak Djokovic, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

September 9, 2015 at 10:25 am

DEFENDING CHAMP @cilic_marin SURVIVES AGAINST @tsonga7- http://t.co/ZarhBaAcix #Cilic #tennis #ATP #USOpen2015 @usopen