Cilic gives Djokovic the fright of his life

TENNIS US OPEN: AT THE TIME of the French Open, Serbia's Novak Djokovic was making bullish noises about challenging Rafael Nadal for the world number two spot.

Since then Nadal, retaining his title at Roland Garros and then winning at Wimbledon for the first time, has accelerated away into the blue yonder, leaving both the Serb and Roger Federer staring into the distance. Neither will depose Nadal by the end of the year - but one of them will hope to leave here with the US Open title.

Last year Federer was still in his pomp, though Djokovic gave him more than a few awkward moments in the final here in New York and then at the beginning of this year defeated the Swiss in the semi-finals of the Australian Open and went on to win his first grand slam. It was the signal that the guard was about to change, and at the time there were many suggesting, with some justification, that the tall, straight-backed and supremely confident Serb might finish the year in pole position. So the heat was immediately on him, and he has struggled under the pressure.

This was clear in his third-round match here against the Croatian Marin Cilic, a fast-emerging teenager who has been tipped to reach the top five. It was a harrowing evening for Djokovic, though he eventually joined Federer in the last 16 after a 6-7, 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 victory, remaining on course to meet the Swiss in this Saturday's semi-finals.

It was a thoroughly uncomfortable experience for last year's beaten finalist as Cilic almost did to Djokovic what he himself had inflicted on so many of his elders over the past year. The Serb found himself staring into a competitive mirror and did not much like what he saw. "Obviously Marin didn't have much to lose as a youngster," he said guardedly.

The 19-year-old Cilic won his first career tournament in New Haven just before the US Open and was clearly brimming with confidence, as well as being thoroughly fired up by playing his first match under floodlights in the Arthur Ashe stadium. "He was really stepping in and I played a bit too defensive," said Djokovic, the world number three who himself is only 21, just a week younger than Andy Murray. "I was waiting for his mistakes, and I was wrong."

Some of Djokovic's famed mental fortitude has been lacking in the second half of the year as the pressure of trying to hold on to the coat-tails of Nadal and Federer has taken its toll. He has twice lost to Murray, having previously been unbeaten against the Scot, and Russia's Marat Safin swept him to an early exit at Wimbledon in the second round where he appeared to have hit a mental wall. It is likely only to be temporary, and he is clearly attempting to regroup here.

"Last year I had a match against Radek Stepanek which was really extremely difficult, one of the toughest in my career," he said. "I reached the final, so it could be the same this year. It's always good to have long matches in the early stages." This is hardly the accepted view. The consensus is that the easier the matches in the opening four rounds, the more energy is left for the sharp end of a grand slam tournament.

Rafael Nadal booked his place in the quarter-finals after overcoming American youngster Sam Querrey in four sets. After a straightforward win in the opening set, world number one Nadal was pushed hard by the 20-year-old to take the win 6-2, 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.

It initially looked like Querrey would be unable to repeat his heroics from the last round, when he stunned 14th seed Ivo Karlovic in their third-round encounter. But after Nadal had been dominant in the first set Querrey settled into the pace of the game, breaking consecutive Nadal service games at the end of the second set to win 5-7 and tie the match.

After stuttering at the start of the third, the American fought back again from 4-2 down to take a 6-5 lead in the set. But Nadal held his nerve to take the lead after a tie-break, and after the Spaniard broke midway through the fourth set to move ahead 4-2 he was able to hold off the American's challenge to seal the win.

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