NY Times · Sep 4, 2015
Latest on US Open: Defending Champ Cilic Pushed to 5 Sets
NEW YORK — The latest on the U.S. Open (all times local):
3:25 p.m.
Defending champ Marin Cilic, who had won five consecutive matches in straight sets at the U.S. Open, was pushed to five sets before escaping with a third-round victory Friday.
Cilic beat 56th-ranked Mikhail Kukushkin 6-7 (5), 7-6 (1), 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-1 in 4 hours, 11 minutes.
He was twice a point from going down two sets but saved both with big serves. Up a set and a break earlier in the second, Kukushkin had a chance to serve out the set and was broken.
But the ninth-seeded Cilic couldn't close out the match in the fourth after going up a break. He then dominated the final set.