Carlos Alcaraz reaches US Open quarterfinal with late-night win against Marin Cilic
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain reacts after beating Marin Cilic in the men’s singles final tennis match against Marin Cilic of Croatia at the US Open on Sept. 1, 2016 in New York.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2018 (AP) — When Marin Cilic reached the 2017 US Open quarterfinals, it was a moment he longed to remember.
It took him four weeks, but last night, after losing in three sets to eighth seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, he finally did.
It was over in two sets after a tense first set in the semis that lasted 11 hours and five minutes. Alcaraz, playing his first US Open since a first-round exit last year to Richard Gasquet, beat the world No. 1 30-15, 15-30, 7-5, 6-4.
“It’s a very proud moment,” Cilic said after being told he had reached the final.
Cilic’s US Open journey got off to a rocky start, as he lost in the first round in straight sets against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.
He was playing on a different surface, at a different time, against a different opponent.
“The first couple of matches, I had my game completely together against Tsonga,” Cilic said. “After that, something happened that stopped me from competing.”
And that something went wrong.
It was when he was warming up on the practice courts at the Grand Slam tournament that he got a call from his father, Juan, who was flying to Cincinnati.
“It was like a slap in the face,” Cilic said. “There’s no excuse or anything. I’m a young kid, we need to move fast.
“Sometimes, we have to do things to get to the top.”
When he arrived at his match this morning for the first time since, he couldn’t wait to jump in the car, drive to the practice courts and get right back on court.
“I didn’t have to wait,” he said, smiling when asked how he felt. “I had some ice chips from a sponsor,
