Cilic Beats Felix To Reach Washington Quarter-finals
Felix Auger-Aliassime earned perhaps the highlight of the day on Thursday at the Citi Open. But Marin Cilic walked off Stadium Court with even more: a victory against the #NextGenATP Canadian star.
Cilic defeated the ninth-seeded Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 26 minutes in Washington, D.C., advancing to the quarter-finals when the teenager struck his 11th double fault of the match.
Sixth-seeded Cilic entered the match with just a 12-10 record on the 2019 season. But the Croat has climbed as high as No. 3 in the ATP Rankings and won both a Grand Slam (2014 US Open) and ATP Masters 1000 tournament (Cincinnati) on hard courts, making him a dangerous player at all times.
Cilic broke Auger-Aliassime’s serve in the first game of the match to set the tone, and perhaps that helped the 30-year-old’s confidence. Cilic saved three of the four break points he faced, consistently firing a big serve to get himself out of trouble. He also did a good job of putting returns back into play, forcing the Canadian to beat him in rallies.
At 2-2 in the second set, Auger-Aliassime earned two break points. And later in the game, the 18-year-old saved a Cilic game point with a magnificent one-handed flick down the line, wagging his finger in the air in celebration. It appeared the World No. 22 was on the verge of a breakthrough.
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN 🤯
— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) August 1, 2019
What a shot from @felixtennis 👏👏
🎥: @TennisTV | @CitiOpen pic.twitter.com/ja1pPIWLs8
But while Cilic bent in the match, he never broke. And the Croat was the steadier player in the biggest moments to claim victory in the pair’s first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting. Cilic will next face third seed Daniil Medvedev or 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier Frances Tiafoe.
Also on the bottom half of the draw, Brit Kyle Edmund battled hard to beat Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 after two hours and 23 minutes. The 13th seed withstood 18 Tsonga aces, saving six of the seven break points he faced.
Next up for the World No. 34 is lucky loser Peter Gojowczyk, who ousted eighth seed Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 21 minutes. The German, who lost to Donald Young in qualifying, also upset BB&T Atlanta Open champion Alex de Minaur in the second round.
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