Nadal Overcomes Cilic Challenge To Reach US Open Quarter-finals

There are days when Rafael Nadal is like a tidal wave on the tennis court, drowning opponents with relentless pressure on both offence and defence. And then there are days when the Spaniard needs to dig deep and raise his level even higher, relying on his trademark grit to get through. Monday evening’s fourth-round match inside Arthur Ashe Stadium was an example of the latter.

But the good thing for the three-time US Open champion is that it resulted in a win, as Nadal battled past 2014 titlist Marin Cilic 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals in New York for the ninth time.

"[It's] so special to see this amazing crowd supporting [me]. As I said before the tournament started, I've always had a great connection with the crowd here in New York. They are very energetic, very passionate," Nadal said. "Matches like this, you come back to the hotel with plenty of energy because I really enjoyed a lot playing in front of the full crowd. Arthur Ashe Stadium here in New York, night session, it's difficult to be better."

The 40-time major quarter-finalist finished the match in style. At 30/30 in the last game, Nadal chased a ball well outside the doubles alley on the forehand side, shoveling the ball around the netpost and just inside the court for a winner, letting out a massive roar as the entire crowd jumped to its feet, including golf superstar Tiger Woods, Nadal's friend.

"It’s easy to describe, but difficult to make. I don’t know, I think I followed the ball good because he had a good volley and I saw it, I ran fast to the ball and I saw at the last moment there would maybe be a small space on that side," Nadal said on court after the match. "I think it was the only way to win that point. I hit it well, but to hit that spot you need some luck."

Nadal, with Novak Djokovic’s retirement Sunday evening during his own fourth-round match, will add to his lead in the ATP Race To London with every victory at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, as he continues to pursue his fifth year-end World No. 1 finish. 

The 33-year-old has made at least the quarter-finals at nine consecutive Grand Slams, and at three consecutive trips to the US Open. Nadal will next face Argentine Diego Schwartzman, against whom he was won all seven of his FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings.

"Diego is playing unbelievable," Nadal said. "I need to play my best in the next round to have a chance to be in the semi-finals. But the match of today I think helps."

Nadal was not quite as dominant as he was in making it to the fourth round without dropping a set, though. And much of the credit for that goes to Cilic for playing a tremendous second set.

"For some moments in the second set I felt there were too many points in his hands," Nadal said. "He was pushing me back and playing more aggressive than me. I was way back on the return and he was with the right determination to go inside the court."

After the lefty came out of the gate firing on all cylinders by breaking for a 3-1 lead in the opening set, Cilic earned the break right back. Nadal did break in the very next game, with that advantage proving decisive, but the No. 22 seed showed that he was not going to let the Nadal train roll over him.

Cilic broke for 3-1 in the second set with good defence on the forehand side, putting the 83-time tour-level titlist in an awkward position to force an error. From there, five years on from his title run here in New York, Cilic gave the crowd flashbacks by firing away at both forehands and backhands to try to break down Nadal’s walls.

But those walls proved plenty tall enough. Nadal won 12 of the final 15 games to triumph after two hours and 49 minutes. In his 61st US Open win, Nadal crushed 38 winners to only 26 unforced errors.

"After the second set i had to make a change or I would be in his hands," Nadal said. "I started to return the second serve inside the court and that gave me a different perspective in points."

Nadal maintained his usual first-serve return position deep in the court, and he made Cilic play ball after ball after scrapping returns into play. Although the Croat connected on 33 winners — and by no means played a poor match — Cilic was unable to maintain enough consistency in his aggression.

Did You Know?
Nadal entered his match against Cilic as the only player remaining who had not been broken, facing only three break points to reach the fourth round. But even though he was broken twice by Cilic, Nadal has still won 95 per cent of his service games this tournament.