Defending champ hobbles to victory
Cilic beats Chardy in four sets after injuring ankle.
NEW YORK — Defending U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic overcame a tweaked right ankle — with the help of 23 aces
— and returned to the quarterfinals by defeating Jeremy Chardy of France 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1 Sunday.
The ninth-seeded Cilic rolled his ankle early in the second set but seemed to be moving fine by late in the third, which he ended with a downthe-line backhand passing winner on the run.
“First couple games weren’t easy. I was conscious about it,” Cilic said about his ankle. “It was causing a bit of trouble.”
But when ace after ace arrives, movement isn’t as important.
“They key today,” Cilic said, “was finding my rhythm on the serve.”
Cilic pounded serves at up to 132 mph, relying on that shot to carry him in the pivotal third-set tiebreaker, when Cilic hit four serves: 120 mph ace, 131 mph ace, 123 mph ace, 112 mph ace.
Next up for the Croatian is a matchup against 19th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, whose serve has been just as good, if not better, so far. Through four matches, Tsonga has not only never dropped a set, he hasn’t even been broken once, saving the only two break points he has faced.
Tsonga didn’t have to deal with any break chances Sunday, defeating another Frenchman, Benoit Paire, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
Feliciano Lopez reached the Open quarterfinals for the first time at age 33, with Fabio Fognini unable to recreate the magic from his upset of Rafael Nadal. The 18thseeded Lopez won 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-1.
Fognini, seeded 32nd, had rallied from down two sets and a break to stun Nadal in a match that didn’t end until early Saturday morning. The shots that were hitting the line against Nadal were landing out Sunday, with 40 unforced errors.
Fognini called for the trainer to adjust his back and neck during and after the second set, and he also needed an inhaler in the third.
Bouchard out: Eugenie Bouchard’s revitalizing run at the Open is over after she slipped and fell in the locker room.
The 25th-seeded Canadian, diagnosed with a concussion, withdrew from her match against Roberta Vinci.
She was hurt Friday and pulled out of two doubles matches Saturday, hoping to still play in singles. But tournament officials announced Sunday that she had a concussion and had withdrawn.
The 21-year-old Bouchard, a runner-up at Wimbledon last year, had been struggling mightily coming into the U.S. Open but rediscovered her form at Flushing Meadows — with a boost from some work with Jimmy Connors.
Her ranking, as high as No. 5 last fall, had slipped to 25th, and she’d lost 14 of 17 matches before arriving in New York. But then she suddenly strung together her first threematch winning streak since January.