Cilic Advances to U.S. Open Semis After Upset Over Berdych

September 4, 2014 | By Eric C. Peck
Marin_Cilic (13)
Photo credit: Calvin Rhoden

Croatia’s Marin Cilic upset Tomas Berdych Thursday afternoon, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6, to advance to the semifinals of the 2014 U.S. Open. Cilic, seeded 14th at the Open, becomes the first Croatian to advance to the semis since Goran Ivanisevic, his coach, accomplished the feat in 1996. Cilic’s last appearance in the final four of a Grand Slam was at the 2010 Australian Open, and Thursday’s upset was his sixth victory over a top 10 opponent in 19 attempts at a major.

“It feels amazing,” said Cilic in his on-court interview. “I’ve had tough times the past couple of years. I’m really happy that things are working out with my team. It's paying off, especially in the past few months. I'm just enjoying my time on the court."

Cilic awaits the winner of this evening’s match under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium, as Roger Federer faces Gael Monfils. Cilic is 0-5 lifetime against Federer, their last meeting less than a month ago in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto, won by Federer 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4. Monfils and Cilic have met only once over their careers, a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win by Monfils in 2009 in the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters.

“He’s definitely playing really well,” said Berdych in his post-match press conference praising his opponent. “He's definitely the player to be in the semifinal. He really deserves that. Playing well, playing very solid, and having the best season ever so far. He's really just on a run.”

Berdych was bidding to reach his second major semifinal of the season, after losing to Stan Wawrinka in the last four at the Aussie Open, falling to a 4-7 record in Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances.

Cilic returned to the ATP Tour earlier this year after serving a nine-month suspension for a doping violation. He missed last year’s U.S. Open after testing positive at the BMW Open in Munich in May 2013 for the stimulant, Nikethamide. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) accepted Cilic’s contention that he ingested the Nikethamide inadvertently in glucose tablets bought at a pharmacy and was not trying to cheat, thus resulting in the nine month suspension rather than a two-year ban from the sport.

In two of his three Grand Slam appearances in 2014 (he missed the Aussie Open), he suffered a third-round loss to Novak Djokovic at the French Open, and advanced to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon where he was also ousted by Djokovic.


Eric C. Peck

Eric C. Peck is Editor-in-Chief of Long Island Tennis Magazine. He may be reached by e-mail at eric@litennismag.com

Centercourt
USTA NTC

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