Cilic beats Berdych with ease
7 Sept 2014 5:15 AM IST
Marin Cilic toppled sixth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) on Thursday to reach the US Open semifinal. The 14th seed becomes the first Croatian since Goran Ivanisevic in 1996 to reach the final four at Flushing Meadows, and he pulled off the upset under the watchful eye of Ivanisevic, now his coach.
Cilic, who missed last year’s US Open as he sat out a doping ban, pounded 19 aces past Berdych, recovering an early break in the third to force the decider. He’ll face five-time champion Roger Federer for a place in the championship match.
‘It was very tricky with the conditions. Very gusty, for both of us. We are big guys, it’s not easy to deal with the wind and the ball moving in the air. I felt that I was using the wind a bit better on Friday,’ Cilic said.
Cilic has matched his best Grand Slam performance, a semifinal run at Australia in 2010. ‘I had tough times the last couple of years and I’m really happy things are working out with my team,’ he added.
Cilic, who missed last year’s US Open as he sat out a doping ban, pounded 19 aces past Berdych, recovering an early break in the third to force the decider. He’ll face five-time champion Roger Federer for a place in the championship match.
‘It was very tricky with the conditions. Very gusty, for both of us. We are big guys, it’s not easy to deal with the wind and the ball moving in the air. I felt that I was using the wind a bit better on Friday,’ Cilic said.
Cilic has matched his best Grand Slam performance, a semifinal run at Australia in 2010. ‘I had tough times the last couple of years and I’m really happy things are working out with my team,’ he added.
Next Story
