Cilic withstands epic de Minaur fight at US Open

Requiring an epic fight back to advance to the US Open fourth round for the fifth time in his career, Marin Cilic predicted a bright future for Alex De Minaur after his captivating 4-6 3-6 6-3 6-4 7-5 win.

“(He showed) incredible spirit. He was fighting his heart out and it was just an insane match and what a comeback he made from 5-2 (in the fifth set),” said Cilic, who at age 29 is a decade older than the Australian.

“I really enjoyed the atmosphere. He played some amazing tennis.”

6 MATCH POINTS SAVED!@alexdeminaur rallies from 2-5, 0-40 and finds himself back on serve at 4-5 in the final set against Cilic!

This is what the #USOpen is all about… pic.twitter.com/mYIHFeBioz

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 2, 2018

It took the 2014 US Open champion exactly four hours to progress past de Minaur, who is one of only two teenagers (alongside Denis Shapovalov) in the ATP’s top 100.

Not that a lack of experience appeared to factor as the spirited 19-year-old raced to a two-sets lead against the former champion in a midnight thriller on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Like two prize fighters, Cilic and de Minaur traded savage blows in a baseline slugfest that started just before 10.30 on Saturday night and finished at 2.22 on Sunday morning.

Runner-up to Roger Federer at Wimbledon last year and again at Australian Open 2018, Cilic was finally the last man standing after mounting a ferocious fightback.

First he trailed by two sets to love, then the seventh seed rallied from a service break down in the deciding fifth set before finally delivering the knockout punch.

“I’m not going to lie, I’m completely devastated,” said de Minaur, vowing to learn from the biggest fight of his blossoming Grand Slam career.

“But at the same time, it is the beauty of this sport.

“I was two sets to love up against a quality opponent today and didn’t manage to finish it off, but I left it all out there.

“I have to be proud of my efforts. I gave it every single inch of energy I had left and it is a great learning experience for me.”

It was a valiant display of scrambling and relentless counterattack in the face of Cilic’s awesome firepower.

Refusing to yield, de Minaur heroically saved five match points in a brutal eighth game of the fifth set to make Cilic serve it out at 5-3.

He was unable to, with de Minaur fending off another match point to break back and then level the set at 5-5.

But the Croatian powerhouse finally prevailed on his seventh match point to seal a famous win in the fourth-latest-finishing match in US Open history.

2:22 am. Epic. @cilic_marin comes from two sets down to beat #NextGenATP ???????? Alex de Minaur 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, converting his 8??th match point.

Show these warriors your appreciation ???? pic.twitter.com/JpOhUck2Zp

— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) September 2, 2018

His reward is a fourth-round date on Monday with Belgian 10th seed David Goffin.

“Incredibly happy. It was an insane atmosphere,” Cilic said.

“He really was a couple of points away from the victory and I was just a little bit lucky today.”