Carlos Alcaraz reaches US Open quarterfinal with late-night win against Marin Cilic’s mother
Carlos Alcaraz made history last week when he became the second Spaniard to reach the US Open quarterfinals in his first major, making him only the fourth Spaniard to reach the last eight at the same tournament. He was also the first Spaniard to do so since Rafael Nadal on Nov. 28, 2005, and the first since Fernando Verdasco did so in 2001.
The former World Cup star reached his quarterfinal Sunday with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 victory over the world No. 2 Marin Cilic’s mother in his second match against the top seed in the last week at the tournament.
Alcaraz was forced to retire in the second set due to a left thigh injury as he fell behind in the match but he recovered to close out the victory.
The win made Alcaraz the second Spaniard to reach the last eight of a major after Rafael Nadal reached all four rounds in the 2004 Australian Open and became the first Spaniard to do so since Fernando Verdasco in 2001. The win is also Alcaraz’s first major title since the 2004 Australian Open that he won the Claro Open clay court tournament.
Cilic had another bad night in the quarterfinals as he lost 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (6-4), 5-7, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (2-0) in a match that began and ended after midnight Saturday night. After winning the first set, Cilic began losing in the second set. Despite falling behind 3-1, he fought back in the third set but Cilic sealed the win in the tiebreak to reach the third and deciding set for his first major quarterfinal.
“I am really disappointed, obviously with all the tough losses I have had in the last few weeks,” he said. “I was playing well and fighting hard. I was not happy with both my starts, especially in the second set. I did lose, but coming back you need to play well and have to fight for every point in order to win the points.”
