Coming off a five-set thriller against Alex de Minaur, Marin Cilic will face David Goffin during U.S. Open fourth-round action on Monday. Kei Nishikori and Philipp Kohlschreiber are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.
(7) Marin Cilic vs. (10) David Goffin
Cilic has a new lease on life in New York after flirting with disaster against Alex de Minaur, whom he ended up outlasting 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in three hours and 59 minutes at 2:22 a.m. on Sunday morning. The 2014 U.S. Open champion preceded that epic comeback with much more routine outings against Marius Copil and Hubert Hurkacz; in fact, he dropped only two games the entire way against Hurkacz.
Up next for Cilic on Monday is a sixth career meeting with Goffin, who who leads the head-to-head series 3-2–including 2-1 on hard courts. The seventh-ranked Croat, however, has taken two in a row with straight-set victories at the 2016 Paris Masters and on the red clay of Rome in 2017. Goffin earned another shot at Cilic by beating Federico Gaio, Robin Haase, and Jan-Lennard Struff, surrendering just one set to Haase in the process. The 10th-ranked Belgian was a recent semifinalist in Cincinnati, but he retired against Roger Federer and then smartly pulled out of Winston-Salem. Not unlike Cilic vs. de Minaur, this is a fun contract in styles that should result in an extremely competitive contest. But even if he is slightly fatigued, the No. 7 seed can shorten points with his power and eventually hit Goffin off the court in these conditions.
Pick: Cilic in 5
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(21) Kei Nishikori vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber
Nishikori and Kohlschreiber will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Monday. Both of their previous encounters have gone the way of Nishikori, who coasted 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 and the 2016 Australian Open and 6-1, 6-2 this spring in Rome. In a favorable section that Alexander Zverev has already vacated and in which Cilic is not exactly looking dominant, the door may be open for Nishikori to reach the U.S. Open semifinals for a third time. The world No. 19 from Japan has improved to 26-13 in 2018 with defeats of Maximilian Marterer, Gael Monfils, and Diego Schwartzman.
Kohlschreiber missed out on seed by just one ranking spot, but he still managed to get a favorable draw and has certainly taken advantage. The world No. 33 earned his place in the fourth round with a trio of four-set wins; two over fellow Germans Yannick Hanfmann and Alexander Zverev plus one at the expense of Matthew Ebden. Kohlschreiber is a proven force at the U.S. Open, with incredible consistency that has now taken him to the second week an impressive five times. But the 34-year-old is 0-4 lifetime in round four and his past struggles against Nishikori also suggest that the underdog’s time in New York is coming to an end.
Pick: Nishikori in 3
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WWW?
Kei in 4 and Cilic in 5
What Benny said. 🙂
Cilic in 4…Nishi in 4.
Cilic in 5, Nish in four.
Where has Kohl been hiding this form lately? Even so, Nishi would have to be below his best to lose .
I guess Kohl has been studying his young countryman’s game…
Not that I watched closely but I felt that AZ’s play was way before par.
*below, not before
Goffin in 4.
Goffin in 4 and Kohlschreiber in 5 (possible in 4 also!)
How will Nishikori handle the SUPERHOT Kohlschreiber and his deadly one handed backhand and cunningly disguised drop shots???
Kei has not been tested hard so is at a lower level than Kohl. Kei beat 3 low level hard court players in Schwartzman (mainly a clay courter), Gael(not in form & retired) and Marterer (not a hard court fellow).
But Kohl has come to the QF passing through FIRE! He beat 3 very tough hard court players in Alex. Zverev, Matthew Ebden (in good form) and Yannick Hanfmann (big man with big power).
Kohlschreiber to win in 5 (possible in 4 also!) Over can win
Goffin in 4
Because….
1) Cilic looked very very tired and can lose easily!
2) Goffin has beaten Cilic in straight sets very easily in the only 2 H2H matches played. 7-5, 6-4 in Tokyo and 7-6(4), 6-2 @Indian Wells both in 2016.
So, I won’t be surprised if Goffin wins in 3 tight sets also…like the above 2 H2H’s. But expecting a 4 set Goffin win.
3) Goffin is the far better returner than Cilic! If a scrawny 19 year lowly ranked kid (#45) can nearly beat Cilic(lost by just a point in the 5th set tiebreaker) then why not a highly ranked (#10) Goffin, who is in top hard court form having beaten 3 TOP 15 guys in Cincinnati in the form of Del Potro, Anderson and Tsitsipas!
Cilic makes too many mental errors. He will make many more errors when Goffin puts extreme pressure with his tricky and varied returns and serving!
Goffin will win with his far higher Tennis IQ!
I’m sure you’re one of the best analyst I’ve seen 😂
W(wicked???), looks like you are sarcastic (with the crying Emoticon at the end!???).
If any point is wrong, kindly point it out for everyone’s benefit.
If have a different analysis which you think is correct, kindly blurt it out. Aren’t we all trying to pick winners here…which is difficult considering the many upsets we have. Hence, we need to think out of the box…focusing on current performance & not resting on past glories (old H2H’s or H2H’s on clay or grass = not useful)…which is what I am doing.
Kei was impressive vs a fired up Kohls! That was a good match – and Kei plays the clutch points so well – knows when to pull the trigger. Yay Kei!
I’ll be so happy if Goffin can handle Cilic as well as Kei did Kohls. Of course huge advantage to Cilic though…if he doesn’t blow it. (hope he will blow it) nothing personal.
Early in the match but Cilic appears to be in control. Plus Goffin giving away points right and left in the tie break.
shoot.
Now Cilic’s turn to give away points and it’s 5-5 in the TB. lol, each of them playing a bad TB. 6-6
In the end, Cilic just too good for Goffin today. Maybe Kei v Cilic will be a better match.
Yeah RC I think Cilic/Nishikori should be a really good one.
Cilic just balling today. He’s hitting that familiar US Open stride 👀