By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, September 6, 2015

 

"These conditions out there on Arthur Ashe Stadium are bit quicker, the court is quicker, and that suits my game," says reigning champion Marin Cilic, who stretched his US Open win streak to 11 matches.

Photo credit: US Open/USTA

NEW YORK—Afternoon shadows crawling across the court couldn't keep pace with the silhouette streaking across Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Neither could 27th-seeded Jeremy Chardy.

Marin Cilic has been largely operating in the shadows this sweek, but that hasn't stalled his return to the US Open quarterfinals.

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The ninth-seeded Croatian dispatched Chardy, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1, extending his Flushing Meadows winning streak to 11 matches and advancing to the US Open quarterfinals for the fourth time.

Defeating one French seed to reach the last eight, Cilic will face another French seed with a final four spot on the line.

In an all-French affair, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did not face a break point pounding out a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 sweep of compatriot Benoit Paire. The 41st-ranked Paire surprised 20014 finalist Kei Nishikori in a five-set opening-round victory, but never got a sniff of Tsonga's serve. The Roland Garros semifinalist permitted just five points on his first serve and lost only eight points on his second

It's tough to overlook a six-foot-six specimen who runs as if he's on rollerblades, stings his serve as if channeling coach and mentor Goran Ivanisevic and hasn't lost a Flushing Meadows match since falling to eventual-champion Andy Murray in the 2012 quarterfinals.

But the reigning US Open champion arrived in New York armed with a meager 4-4 hard-court record this season and massive pressure defending his title and the 2,000 ranking points that go with it. Cilic has stepped up tot he challenge so far. He likes to play off pace, relishes the speed of the stadium court, handles the low ball well for a big man and when his serve is firing the rest of his game flows.

"These conditions out there on Arthur Ashe Stadium are bit quicker, the court is quicker, and that suits my game," Cilic said. "So I'm really enjoying it. You know, finding always the right way to play on these kind of courts is very important. So I feel, you know, I have the right path that I did last year, which is giving me the guidance for the next matches."

A right shoulder injury sidelined Cilic from the Australian Open in January, delaying the start of his season until March in Indian Wells.

The reigning US Open champion strong-armed his way through the crucial third-set tie break today.

Cilic cracked four of his 23 aces in the breaker, blowing open the match against his sometime doubles partner. Cilic has hit a tournament-high 82 aces, including 50 in his last two matches.

That serve will be vital against Tsonga, who has not surrendered serve and has faced just two break points in the tournament. Tsonga figures to be fresher in the quarterfinals: He hasn't lost a set or spent more than two and a quarter hours on court in any match.

Cilic outdueled Mikhail Kukushkin in a four hour, 11-minute marathon —the longest singles match of the tournament —in the third round and twisted his ankle in the second set of today's two hour, 26-minute victory.

"I had trouble with my movement after I twisted my ankle in the second set," Cilic told ESPN's Brad Gilbert today. "First couple of games (after the injury), it wasn't easy. I was conscious about it. It was causing a little bit of trouble, but afterward I didn't have any trouble."

The explosive Tsonga can pose problems for anyone when he's landing his ferocious flat serve. But Cilic, whose two-handed backhand is his best groundstroke, has effectively targeted Tsonga's weaker backhand wing in winning their last three matches and four of five overall.

"(The serve) is one of my best weapons since I was a kid, so it's something I don't really need to focus on," Tsonga said. "It's going well. I think today the rest was also good and when I'm playing tood, outside of my serve, then it's even easier to serve."

The 19th-seeded Tsonga hasn't beaten Cilic since the 2011 Cincinnati Masters.

"Jo-Wilfried is gonna be very tough," Cilic said. "But I feel like I'm playing well and I didn't lose much energy today. I really enjoy playing here and I'm going to try to keep my streak going for a couple more matches."

If he does, Cilic won't be playing in the shadows anymore. The winner of this quarterfinal could potentially face top-seeded Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.