NEW YORK: Austria’s Dominic Thiem advanced to the fourth round of the ongoing US Open after defeating Croatian Marin Cilic on Sunday.
Thiem had the upper hand in the match as he won the first two sets easily with an identical margin 6-2, 6-2 but the Croat was in no mood of giving away the match to Thiem.
The 2014 US Open champion Cilic fought back in the third set and won the set by 6-3. The world number three came back strong and claimed the next set by 6-3.Thiem defeated Cilic by 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the next round. He will face Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round clash on Monday, September 7.
Felix has not dropped a set in his last two encounters in the tournament.
Thiem said it was a ‘good win’ against ‘great champion’ Cilic and admitted that his best is yet to come.
“I think the quick start was more because of him. He had two very tough rounds and was a little bit slow in the beginning. I took all of my chances. Today was a good win against a great champion, so that should give me a boost,” Association of Tennis Professionals quoted Thiem as saying on the court after the match.
“I’m not 100 percent yet. I still have to raise my level if I want to go deeper. I’m normally capable of doing this in the Slams [and] hopefully here as well,” he added. (ANI)