Cilic scrapes into Memphis quarter-finals

MEMPHIS, Tennessee: Top seed Marin Cilic saved three match points en route to a 7- 6 (7/2), 36, 7- 6 (9/7) victory over Igor Sijsling on Thursday to book a quarter-final berth in the US Indoor Tennis Championships.

Croatia’s Cilic trailed 4- 6 and then 6-7 in the third- set tiebreaker, but won the final three points to take the match from his Dutch foe.

Cilic next faces Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori, who beat qualifier Donald Young 6- 3, 6- 3.

World number 63 Denis Istomin reached his fourth ATP quarter-final of the season, beating Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt 6-1, 6-2.

Istomin next faces lucky loser Michael Russell, who beat Lukasz Kubot of Poland 6-2, 6- 4.

In women’s action in this 1.58 million combined ATP and WTA event, top seed Kirsten Flipkens fell prey in the quarter-finals to the upset bug that saw second-seeded Sofia Arvidsson ousted in the second round.

Seventh- seeded Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova, the winner of this title two years ago, defeated Flipkens 6-7 (11/13), 7- 5, 6- 3.

In the semi- finals, Rybarikova will take on third- seeded German Sabine Lisicki, who cruised past eighth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic of France 6- 3, 6- 3.

The other semi- final will pit Switzerland’s Stefanie Vogele against Marina Erakovic. — AFP