Since falling into a 5-1, 0-40 hole against Marius Copil to start this United States Open, Marin Cilic has dropped only four games in six sets.
The 2014 champion here and No. 7 seed, Cilic — who will lead Croatia against the visiting United States in the semifinals of the Davis Cup after the Open — simply overwhelmed Copil and Hubert Hurkacz to set up a third-round meeting Saturday with the fast-rising (and speedy) Australian teenager Alex de Minaur.
Cilic arrived in New York having reached the final in two of the five previous Grand Slam tournaments and has always had his greatest success in the majors at Flushing Meadows.