Cilic Powers Into Brisbane Quarterfinals
Croatia’s Marin Cilic powered his way into the Brisbane International quarterfinals on Wednesday, beating South Korean teenager Hyeon Chung 7-5, 7-6(3).
The former U.S. Open champion fired 18 aces and won 84 percent of his first serve points, while securing three break points to advance in straight sets.
Cilic will meet Austrian Dominic Thiem in the quarterfinals. The eighth-seed Thiem cruised past American Denis Kudla 6-3, 6-2 in his second-round match.
“I think he’s going to definitely come up with some big shots, big serves. He plan play extremely well [and] I have to be ready for that,” said Cilic. “I have to just be focused on my game and try to play the best I can [on] my own part of the court.”
It will be the first career meeting between Cilic and Thiem.
The man Cilic beat in that 2014 U.S. Open final, Kei Nishikori, also moved into the final eight in Brisbane on Wednesday. The second-seed from Japan beat Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 6-4.
“I think he started really well,” said Nishikori. “He was playing aggressive, great backhand and I just tried to mix it up.”
In the quarterfinals, Nishikori will meet seventh-seeded Australian Bernard Tomic, who had his hands full with the Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek, but outlasted him 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-6(4) to advance.
