LONDON — A double fault by the narrowest of margins allowed Marin Cilic to complete a great escape at Wimbledon on Wednesday as the U.S. Open champion lived to fight another day with a five-set victory over Richard Berankis.
The Lithuanian journeyman appeared to be on the verge of pulling off a shock upset when he held two break points at 5-5 in the fifth set.
But Croatian Cilic saved the first with a forehand winner and blew out his cheeks in relief when he saw Berankis's forehand drop long on the second.
One game later it was all over as Hawkeye confirmed Berankis's second serve at match point down missed the line by millimeters, allowing Cilic to win 6-3 4-6 7-6(6) 4-6 7-5 and book a third-round clash with American John Isner.