Not that easy for Djokovic

By Marcus Henry

In the end, it looked easy for third-seeded Novak Djokovic at the US Open on Sunday. But it really wasn’t.

After going toe-to-toe with 30th-seeded Marin Cilic for almost four grueling sets, Djokovic needed a tie-breaker to advance.

Although the tie-breaker was a breeze for Djokovic as he shut out Cilic, 7-0, the final score was a bit closer as the Serbian native prevailed, 6-7 (7), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (0) in a match that took three hours and 52 minutes.

After the match, Djokovic lauded his opponent for keeping him on his toes. “I was just trying to stay with him,” Djokovic said. “I know he had a great serve percentage.”

Djokovic advances to the fourth round where he will take on 15th-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain, a 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-3 straight-set winner over France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Djokovic’s run to the third round of the US Open was predictably a breeze. He had little problems dispatching France’s Arnaud Clement and America’s Robert Kendrick in the first two rounds.

But yesterday’s match against the 19-year-old Cilic presented a big challenge for Djokovic, who captured the Australian Open title earlier this year.

Cilic totaled 39 aces through his first two matches, including 28 in his first-round win over France’s Julien Benneteau. And the hard hitting Croatian native figured to give Djokovic all he could handle with his big serve.

Cilic’s serve and his ability to return serve kept the match competitive, but in the end his own mistakes caught up with him.

There were several critical moments for both players, but the biggest came in the fourth set with score tied at 3. Ahead 40-30, Cilic, was on the verge of taking a 4-3 lead. But Cilic double faulted, allowing Djokovic to pounce for a 4-3 lead.

Djokovic appeared to be in command after taking a 5-3 lead in the fourth set, but Cilic made things interesting, winning the next three games to take a 6-5 lead.

Visibly exhausted, Djokovic was thankful the match was finally over. “You’re asking me how I’m doing after a four-hour match, not fresh for sure,” he joked.

Although Djokovic avoided a fifth set, the match was a lot tougher than the final score indicated. Cilic fired 19 aces on the night, keeping Djokovic on his toes most of the night. But Cilic’s serve couldn’t overcome the 65 unforced errors or 11 double faults.