ATP US Open: Rafael Nadal topples Marin Cilic to stay on title course
World no. 2 and the three-time US Open champion Rafael Nadal is through to the ninth quarter-final in New York following a solid 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Marin Cilic. The winner from 2014 managed to take away a set from Rafa but the Spaniard's triumph was never in doubt, delivering great tennis on both serve and return for the seventh win over Marin in nine encounters, celebrating the 268th Grand Slam victory. Despite losing a set, Nadal controlled the pace of the encounter all the time, recovering instantly to topple Marin in sets three and four and bring the win home, hitting 37 winners and 26 unforced errors with two breaks suffered.
As it turned out, Marin needed more than that to stay in touch, losing serve six times and not being able to match the rival's pace in sets three and four, ending his run in the fourth round. Rafa broke first in the fourth game after a forehand error from Marin who broke back in the next game with a deep return to get back on the positive side of the scoreboard. For the third game in a row, the server got broken at 15 after an incredible defense from Nadal who kept the advantage until the end with two great holds, moving 6-3 up with a service winner in game nine after 36 minutes.
They both played on a high level in set number two and it was Cilic who delivered a whole package, serving well and breaking Rafa at 15 in the fourth game that sent him in front, sealing the set with an unreturned serve at 5-3 to level the overall score and stay in contention for an upset. Nadal had other plans, though, dropping five points on serve in the third set and breaking Marin twice in a row for a commanding 6-1 in no time at all. Cilic couldn't stay on the level from the previous set, suffering a break at love with a double fault in game four and giving serve away next time around as well to send Rafa 5-1 up after a forehand down the line winner from the Spaniard who held with a service winner a few minutes later to move two sets to one up after two hours and gain a massive boost.
The pressure was on Cilic who couldn't deal with it, losing serve twice at the beginning of the fourth set to hand the victory to his opponent. Nadal broke in the first game of the set after another costly double fault from the Croat, earning another return game at 2-0 to forge an even bigger advantage and moving over the top with a forehand winner in game eight to propel himself into the last eight and stay on the course for the 19th Major crown.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2PMxRPY
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