Tennis: Raonic blasts Cilic off court to make Aussie Open quarters

MELBOURNE -- Big Canadian Milos Raonic blasted 35 aces to make his fifth Australian Open quarter-final in six years Sunday, outgunning fellow former world number three Marin Cilic in straight sets.

The 32nd seed proved too powerful for the unseeded Croat, winning 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 with Cilic hampered by a back problem after battling through two gruelling five-setters en route to the fourth round.

Raonic's reward is a last-eight clash with either seven-time winner and defending champion Novak Djokovic or feisty Argentinian Diego Schwartzman.

"It was a rollercoaster," said Raonic. "He played better than me in the first set and I was lucky to get through. I'm just happy to be out here, feeling good and playing well."

The Australian Open is Raonic's favourite Slam.

He reached the semi-finals in 2016, when he lost to Andy Murray, and the quarters on three other occasions, including last year.

His career, though, has been plagued by injuries, with operations over the years for hip, foot and wrist problems. He has also struggled with back, ankle, calf and knee issues.

He said it felt "pretty damn good" to finally be injury free.


"I'm happy I have another chance. It's been an exciting tournament for me so far and hopefully there's more exciting times ahead." 

Seeded 32, his lowest since 2011, Raonic came into the match after a smooth passage into the last 16 with three straight-sets victories, including a comfortable win over world number six Stefanos Tsitsipas.

In contrast, 2014 US Open champion Cilic was put through two five-setters against seeded opponents, including a gritty defeat of ninth seed Roberto Bautista Agut.

The exertions didn't help Cilic, a 2018 finalist, against a man back to full fitness.

Raonic's power serve is one of the best in the game and he used it to good effect. It was the difference in the opening set, along with his ability to successfully get his racquet on far more returns than the Croat.

While he fired down eight aces, Cilic managed none. The Canadian also successfully sent back 76 percent of the Croat's first serves in contrast to his opponent managing just 44 percent.

The crucial break came in game nine as Cilic lost focus, and Raonic quickly raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set.

Cilic was struggling and took a medical timeout at the changeover for a lower back massage.

He returned to hold serve, but Raonic never allowed him into the match, pumping down another 13 booming aces to go two sets to one in front.

It was more of the same in set three until Cilic worked up two set points at 5-4, but once again Raonic pulled the trigger on some big serves to hold on and then immediately broke before serving out the match, fittingly with another ace.

Agence France-Presse

Tennis: Dimitrov outlasts Cilic in heavyweight clash

Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov twice came from a set behind to outlast 11th seed Marin Cilic in a heavyweight second-round clash at the French Open on Wednesday.

The former world number three, unseeded this year at Roland Garros after falling to 46th in the rankings, produced a gutsy display laced with pure shot-making to win 6-7 6-4 4-6 7-6 6-3.

Dimitrov moved 5-2 ahead in the decider with two breaks, but Cilic was not going out without a fight and saved a match point with a booming forehand as he repaired some of the damage.

Cilic netted a backhand in the next game, however, to hand Dimitrov a notable victory.

Dimitrov has never been past the third round at Roland Garros and if he is to extend his stay beyond that this year, he will have to do it the hard way.

His next opponent is 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka.

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Tennis: Djokovic battles through to 6th Cincinnati final

Novak Djokovic qualified for his sixth Cincinnati Masters final when he edged out Marin Cilic, 6-4 3-6 6-3, in an afternoon semi-final on Saturday.

Serbian Djokovic continued his dominance of Croatian Cilic, winning the 15th consecutive match between the pair, though it was not pretty at times in a contest that stretched for two hours 32 minutes.

The result sets up the prospect of a mouth-watering final between Djokovic and Roger Federer, one of the greatest rivalries in the history of the sport.

But first Swiss Federer must get past David Goffin in the evening semi-final.

Asked about the rivalry, Djokovic played a straight bat: "I understand you want to ask me that question but out of respect to Goffin I don't want to answer it," he said in an on-court interview.

Djokovic, who has lost all five of his Cincinnati finals, was not at his best against Cilic, but came through on the big points.

"It's been a rollercoaster week with matches, interruptions, and rain delays and everything," Djokovic said.

"I managed to win the last three matches in the third set. Very few points decided a winner and I just managed to pull through."

After dropping the second set to Cilic, Djokovic broke to go 3-1 up in the decider, before immediately complaining to the chair umpire about music that was audible from outside centre court.

It seemed to break Djokovic's concentration, because he immediately went down 0-40 on serve before digging his way back to deuce, only to lose the game with a weak second serve into the net.

But Djokovic broke back in the eighth game before serving out clinically to secure victory.

"I didn't like that music in the first few games of the third set," he said, before adding that he would watch the Federer-Goffin semi-final on TV.

"Of course, I'll watch, from my bed or bath," he said.

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Tennis: Djokovic to face Cilic as Cincinnati title dream draws close

Former world number one Novak Djokovic won his second match of the day on Friday to set up a semi-final clash at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters with Marin Cilic.

Djokovic, a five-time finalist here who has never broken through, is aiming to lift the trophy at the only one of the Masters 1000 series events that he has never won.

The Serb tenth seed followed up a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 third-round defeat of holder Grigor Dimitrov earlier in the day of a rainy week by beating Milos Raonic 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

It was the ninth win without a loss for Djokovic in the series with the Canadian.

"I've played five finals here, so that's pretty OK," Djokovic said. "But I do wish to win the title, without a doubt."

"I'm here to enjoy a sport that I love, I've got plenty of motivation... I'm in a good position, so I'll take it step by step," he said. 

Djokovic had to come from behind in the first and third sets, and helped seal the victory with a break for 5-3 in the third.

"Milos is one of the best servers in the game," Djokovic said. "Just a few points decided the winner."

"It's tough to play against someone serving so big. I was fortunate to read his serve on several occasions. I must be very pleased with fighting spirit and staying mentally tough to overcome deficits in both matches."

Cilic put out Spanish 13th seed Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6 (9/7), 6-4.

"I haven't played any matches on the center court. I feel and I heard that it's completely different. It's much faster," Cilic said.

"Definitely Novak is playing really well. His level was definitely high and he's in definitely really good form."

"We played tough match in Queen's, but that's grass and definitely different. So I have to get ready and give it a full shot," he said. 

Women's top seed Simona Halep recovered from 1-4 down in the opening set, reversing her losing momentum to defeat Lesia Tsurenko 6-4, 6-1.

It was the second fightback of the day for Halep, who came from a break down in each set to overhaul Australian 16th seed Ashleigh Barty 7-5, 6-4 several hours earlier in the third round.

Double Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova reached the final four over Belgian Elise Mertens 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.

She will face Kiki Bertens after the Dutch defeated Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3.

"I didn't really serve well, but luckily I did have good second serve, which was very important for me to put it back to the court and play some rallies," Kvitova said.

"I really need to play more aggressive. I think I was born just to play aggressive. Just boom, boom, boom. But I've found out that I need to have the game B in the end of the day," she said. 

"And that's how I was -- in some points I didn't really risk that much and just put it to the court. I just played and waited for the important points to go for the winner."

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Tennis: Nadal stays on track in Toronto with win over Cilic

Rafael Nadal recovered from a slow start, overcoming Marin Cilic 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 as the Spaniard's chase for a long-sought ATP Masters title on hardcourt heated up on Friday.

The world number one reached the semi-finals in Toronto and will next face Russian Karen Khachanov, who beat Robin Haase 6-3, 6-1.

Nadal last won a title at this level on cement in 2013.

"It was a very important match for me," Nadal said. "Being in semi-finals is great news at the start of the hard court season.

"And winning three good matches in the first Master 1000, it's so important for me.

"He played unstoppable in the first set. I resisted, I played with the right tactic. I tried to find my solutions - but it was so difficult."

Stefanos Tsitsipas saved two match points to beat defending champion Alexander Zverev in their quarter-final contest 3-6, 7-6 (13/11), 6-4.

The Greek teenager, who turns 20 on Sunday's final day, defeated his third straight top 10 opponent at the tournament after knocking out Dominic Thiem in the second round and 13-time major winner Novak Djokovic in the third.

Tsitsipas is the youngest player to post three top 10 wins at a single tournament since the 19-year-old Nadal at Monte Carlo in 2006.

Tsitsipas will next face Wimbledon runner-up Kevin Anderson, who beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-2. 

"I'm confused now, is this real?" 27th-ranked Tsitsipas said after completing his prestige hat-trick of upsets.

Nadal got caught on the back foot in the first set against Cilic, who took the opener on his fourth chance.

Nadal struck back in the second with a concluding break to square the match before taking victory with a break in the final game on his third match point after more than two hours.

Tsitsipas rallied from a set and 5-2 down to turn the tables on Zverev, who had been bidding for a fourth Masters 1000 title. 

Tsitsipas broke in the ninth game of the second on the way into a tiebreaker, where he calmly converted on his fifth set point after saving two match points for the second-seeded Zverev.

Tsitsipas then salvaged four break points for 2-1 in the third, he traded breaks with the German and saved another trio of break points for a 5-4 lead.

He completed the victory after nearly two and a half hours on Zverev's sixth double-fault.

"This shows that with dedication and work, dreams do come true," Tsitsipas said. "I can see that it's real -- it's happening.

"I don't know what happened (in the second set), I just broke him (for 4-5). All along I could feel the crowd support, I knew I was still in the match."

- Canadian rematch -
Anderson's sweep past reigning ATP World Tour Finals champion Dimitrov was a rematch of their 2014 quarter-final duel in Canada when Dimitrov claimed one of his six wins against the South African.

"It definitely was a great match today. I felt I played really well right from the beginning," Anderson said.

"Right from the first point till the last, I felt I was in a really good frame of mind, playing the kind of tennis that I knew I wanted to be playing and needed to be playing."

"Getting off the court pretty comfortably definitely is a really good feeling."

The big South African rolled into the semis in just 66 minutes, breaking four times while managing only a modest 11 aces. 

str/gph

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Relentless Cilic edges Kyrgios to set up Djokovic final

LONDON - Top seed Marin Cilic ended Nick Kyrgios's entertaining run at the Fever-Tree Queen's Club championships with a 7-6(3) 7-6(4) victory on Saturday as he reached the final for the fourth time.

A high-level semi-final full of thundering serves boiled down to two tiebreaks in which the ice-cool Cilic proved the more composed player to set up a Sunday showdown with former world number one Novak Djokovic.

Unseeded Djokovic was given some trouble by Jeremy Chardy in the opening set but prevailed 7-6(5) 6-4 to take his record over the Frenchman to 11-0 and 26-0 in sets.

World number six Cilic was out-aced 16-11 but never gave Australian maverick Kyrgios a sniff of a service break.

"It's special to play here and I've played great tennis throughout the week and it's great to have another shot at the title," the 2012 Queen's champion said on a sunny centre court.

"Nick is serving so good and it was tough to get a look on the service returns. As expected a couple of points made the difference in the tiebreaks."

Kyrgios, ranked 21, had served 82 aces on his way to the semi-final and was in scintillating form against defending champion Feliciano Lopez on Friday.

He could not quite reach that level again but was still happy with his grasscourt form having lost narrowly to Roger Federer in the Stuttgart semis last week and beaten former Wimbledon champion Andy Murray for the first time at Queen's.

"The last couple of weeks, I feel pretty untouchable on serve. Today I just didn't have any chances to break at all," the 23-year-old told reporters.

POTENT WEAPON

His serve was a potent weapon again and in the eighth game of the first set he bashed down three consecutive aces before playing one of his trademark 'tweeners' to level at 4-4.

Cilic, runner-up to Roger Federer at Wimbledon last year and this year's Australian Open, was relentless, however, and seized on a couple of Kyrgios groundstroke errors in the opening tiebreak to pocket the first set.

Kyrgios saved the only break points of the match, recovering from 15-40 at 2-2 in the second set.

As the set sped towards another tiebreaker, the pressure was beginning to tell on Kyrgios as he yelled "I can't focus".

Sure enough a Kyrgios double-fault at the start of the tiebreak gave the initiative to Cilic who quickly built a 6-3 lead and although he netted on his first match point he converted the second when Kyrgios skewed a backhand wide.

While Kyrgios will be frustrated, his level during the week augurs well for his Wimbledon prospects.

"I've played some good tennis, have played some tough opponents. I played a lot of three-setters and a lot of tennis. That's a positive. My body feels pretty good," he said.

Wildcard Djokovic seemed agitated at times as Chardy, who has won 12 of 13 matches on grass over the past three weeks, proved a tricky opponent.

The Frenchman made several errors in the tiebreak though and was broken at 4-4 in the second -- the only break of serve in the day's two semi-finals -- before Djokovic sealed the win.

He has a 14-1 winning record over Cilic but might be second-favourite on Sunday with the Croatian in superb form.

"I will play with two racquets! One in the right hand and one in the left hand!" Djokovic said when asked how he would cope with the power of Cilic's serve. 

(Reporting by Martyn Herman Editing by Edmund Blair and Jon Boyle)

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Zverev beats Cilic in impressive ATP Finals debut

LONDON - A few hours after old master Roger Federer reminded everyone of his enduring magic, Alexander Zverev, the man leading the next generation of men's tennis, dazzled on his ATP Finals debut.

The 20-year-old German, ranked three in the world, was hot and cold against Croatia's Marin Cilic but, when it mattered most, he produced his best tennis to win 6-4 3-6 6-4.

Zverev, the youngest qualifier for the season-ender for nine years, appeared to be fading after a dazzling start, but surged back in style to join Federer on top of Boris Becker Group.

"It is different walking on here than any other stadium. The crowd, the atmosphere is amazing," Zverev, who revelled on the big stage, told reporters after the late-night finish.

"There were a lot of nerves involved in my first match. Obviously I'm happy that's behind me. I'm happy that I won."

Zverev possesses huge power off the ground, yet it was his finesse at the net which earned him a break in the opening game, picking off a low drop volley that gave Cilic no chance.

His forehand wavered at times as Cilic cleverly tried to take the pace off the ball with some floaty slices, but Zverev closed out the first set with an ace.

Cilic, back in London since his traumatic Wimbledon final defeat by Federer when he broke down in tears as blisters wrecked his big day, then took control.

The big Croat upped his serving and forehand power to level the match and then led 3-1 in the third set.

At 3-2, he was 40-15 up on serve but Zverev, wound-up by an erroneous over-rule, forged back to break with an exquisite lob.

Cilic then dropped serve to love at 4-5 to lose for the sixth time in seven matches at the year-ender.

Zverev, bidding to become the first German to finish the year in the world's top three since Boris Becker in 1994, will face a mouthwatering clash with Federer on Tuesday.

Six-times champion Federer had earlier beaten Jack Sock.

"I think anyone beating Federer in this group has a good chance of (reaching the semi-finals)," Zverev, who beat the Swiss to win this year's Montreal title, his second Masters 1000 title of the year, said.

"But he's the favourite definitely in all of the matches he plays. But I enjoy playing in front of big stages, big crowds."

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar / Ian Ransom)

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Lopez beats Cilic in nail-biting Queen's Club final

LONDON - Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez claimed the biggest title of his long career when he battled back to beat Marin Cilic 4-6 7-6(2) 7-6(8) in a nerve-wracking final of the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club on Sunday.

The 35-year-old, who suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the 2014 final when he held a match point against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, this time saved one in a tense tiebreak shootout before toppling the Croat.

Fourth seed Cilic also saved two match points, but at the third time of asking crowd favourite Lopez could finally celebrate a sixth career title after Cilic pulled a forehand into the tramlines.

"I can't believe that I finally won it, I've been waiting for 15 or 16 years to hold this trophy," an emotional Lopez, three times a Wimbledon quarter-finalist, said on court.

"I thought that at the end of the tiebreak after losing match points I wouldn't make it but I managed to do it.

"It was tough to put that (match point in 2014) out of my mind so it was difficult to handle my nerves but I managed it."


Lopez, yet another male player who appears to be getting better with age, is the oldest winner of the prestigious Queen's Club championship in the professional era.

He did it by defeating Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych, Grigor Dimitrov and Cilic -- ranked three, 14, 11 and seven in the world rankings.

"It's the best week of my career, which is crazy when you're 35," said Lopez, who joins a celebrated list of former champions including the likes of John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, Andy Murray and fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

The match was decided in an epic tiebreak with both players showing remarkable grasscourt skills.

Cilic brought up match point with an ace but Lopez saved it when he cut off the Croat's attempted pass with a stretching volley. Lopez then had a match point only for Cilic to snuff it out with his 22nd ace of the match.

Lopez performed miracles to scramble a point at 7-7 and serve for the match but Cilic responded with a nerveless volley after an exchange of blows from the baseline.

A 19th ace for Lopez brought up another match point and this time Cilic could not reply.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ian Chadband and Brian Homewood)

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Murray begins Tour Finals with Cilic showdown

LONDON, United Kingdom -- Andy Murray will face Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic in the ATP Tour Finals group stage as the newly crowned world number one looks to win the prestigious tournament for the first time.

Murray has never been past the semi-finals at the season-ending event, but the Scot arrives at London's O2 Arena with a huge incentive to take the title.

The 29-year-old shattered Novak Djokovic's 122-week reign at top of the world rankings over the weekend by reaching the final of the Paris Masters.

To ensure his first taste of the number one position lasts more than two weeks, Murray must match or better Djokovic's performance at the Tour Finals, a tournament the Serb has won for the last four years.

After toasting his success while flying back to London on a private jet after winning the Paris Masters on Sunday, Murray was back to business on Monday as he learned his initial opponents in the Tour Finals.

Murray has had mixed results against his group rivals this year, losing to Japan's Nishikori in the US Open quarter-finals after beating him at the Rio Olympics and in the Davis Cup.

He has lost three of his last four matches against world number three Wawrinka, including in last year's group stage, although he did beat the Swiss in their only meeting this year in the French Open semi-finals.

Murray was also beaten by former US Open champion Cilic in their last meeting, in the Cincinnati final, but he defeated the Croatian in the Queen's Club semi-finals in June.

After winning Wimbledon for a second time and then taking the second Olympic singles gold of his career, Murray can cap a dream year by lifting the Tour Finals trophy.

"Yesterday was a great day, today has just been a normal day at home with the family," said Murray, whose first match of the Tour Finals will be against Cilic next Monday.

"Once you're out on the court you don't think about your ranking. You're playing against the top eight players in the world. I look forward to getting out there and playing at the O2.

"I'll try and take a few days rest now, start hitting again on Thursday. I need a few days' break.

"It will be one big push for all the guys. Everyone has played a lot of tennis and hopefully everyone can play well."

After looking invincible in the first half of the year, Djokovic, who faces Milos Raonic, Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem in the other group, suddenly finds himself playing second fiddle to Murray.

The reigning Australian and French Open champion will play in the first match of the Tour Finals on Sunday against rising Austrian star Thiem.

Draw for the ATP World Tour finals group stage made in London on Monday (x denotes seeding):

Group McEnroe

Andy Murray (GBR x1)

Stan Wawrinka (SUI x3)

Kei Nishikori (JPN x5)

Marin Cilic (CRO x7)


Group Lendl

Novak Djokovic (SRB x2)

Milos Raonic (CAN x4)

Gael Monfils (FRA x 6)

Dominic Thiem (AUT x8)

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Federer targets Wawrinka in US Open final push

NEW YORK -- Five-time champion Roger Federer will prepare for his US Open semi-final clash with close friend Stan Wawrinka by sleeping as much as possible.

The 34-year-old Swiss believes napping, as well as the routine of practice and gym work, is just as crucial as he enters his 10th New York semi-final and 20th career clash against his compatriot.

He is so fond of sleep that Federer will look to get in as much as 10 hours a day before Friday's semi-final, where the winner will face either world No. 1 Novak Djokovic or defending champion Marin Cilic in Sunday's championship match.

"Sleeping has become quite important," said Federer, the father of two sets of twins. "I make sure I sleep enough, as well. Like when I went to bed after the John Isner match (in the fourth round) it got quite late and I couldn't sleep quite as much as I wanted to.

"Because I believe it's really the sleep that gives you energy again down the road. That's why the next two days are very important for me in terms of sleeping."

If the approach for such a high-stakes clash seems risky, then Federer is showing no signs of nerves as he moves two wins from an 18th major and his first in more than three years.

He has reached the semi-finals without dropping a set and has been broken just twice.

On Wednesday, he blitzed French 12th seed Richard Gasquet in just 87 minutes, firing 50 winners, 16 aces and facing just a single break point.

Furthermore, he has a 16-3 record against Wawrinka.

He may have lost their most recent clash in the French Open quarter-finals as Wawrinka swept to the title, but Federer's three defeats have all come on clay.

"I think a lot comes through practice for Stan, because he's worked very hard throughout his career," said Federer in praise of his Davis Cup winning teammate.

"It took him a while to figure out exactly what his possibilities were. I don't think he was a guy who always had enough confidence. I always thought he was a better player than he actually was, but somehow something was holding him back maybe.

"I think only once when he really started to break through and he had some big wins."

Wawrinka believes he is now the equal of Federer, something he did not quite believe before he won his first major at the 2014 Australian Open.

"I think now we are both nervous when we enter the court. Before it was only me. I was nervous because I knew I wasn't at his level," he said. "Now I think we can see that he was also nervous every time we play each other the past few years. That's a big difference."

Wawrinka will be playing in his second semi-final after also making the last four in 2013.

Djokovic takes a 13-0 record over Cilic into his semi-final as he attempts to make the final for the fifth time in six years and sixth in total.

In a rivalry stretching back seven years, the two men have met four times at the Grand Slams but just once at the US Open when Djokovic won in four sets in 2008.

The Serb also swept past the Croatian in straight sets in the Wimbledon quarter-finals this year on his way to a third All England Club title.

Djokovic had cruised through his first three rounds but then dropped a set apiece to Spanish rivals Roberto Bautista Agut and Feliciano Lopez. Victory over serve-and-volleyer Lopez was his 55th match win in New York.

But despite his stranglehold over Cilic, the top seed insists that his opponent, on a 12-match win streak at the tournament, remains the dangerman especially with a serve which has yielded 111 aces.

"That serve gets him out of trouble. I know him very well. I have played with him many, many times. We are great friends. Great guy," said the Serb.

Cilic has endured a rollercoaster ride in his title defense as he looks to become the first back-to-back champion since Federer in 2008.

His five-set wins over Mikhail Kukushkin in the third round and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals are two of the three longest matches at the tournament this year.

His 4-hour, 11-minute battle with Kukushkin was just seven minutes short of the time it took Kevin Anderson to knock out third seed and 2012 champion Andy Murray in the round of 16.

"I came to the tournament knowing that I can play well here, that I just need few matches to get into the rhythm, and that's what happened," said the ninth seed.

Cilic has won just one title -- in Moscow in October -- since his breakthrough in New York 12 months ago but has yet to add to that in 2015.

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Djokovic and Cilic through to U.S. Open fourth round

NEW YORK - Top seed Novak Djokovic and defending champion Marin Cilic took different routes into the fourth round of the U.S. Open as the upsets and searing heat at Flushing Meadows both eased off on Friday.

After a week of punishing heat that saw a record 13 players retire, cooler temperatures and order returned to the year's final grand slam as world number one Djokovic eased to a third round 6-3 7-5 7-5 victory over Italian Andreas Seppi.

Cilic also kept his title defence on track but not without a scare as the ninth seed needed over four hours to put away Kazakhstan's 56th-ranked Mikhail Kukushkin 6-7(5) 7-6(1) 6-3 6-7(3) 6-1.

The big-hitting Croat stepped onto the Grandstand court having won 16 straight sets at the National Tennis Center but that string quickly came to an end when Kukushkin took the opening set in a tiebreak in what was the start of a long and harrowing afternoon for the defending champion.

"I'm happy with the fighting spirit today, just accepting that I wasn't playing so well," said Cilic. "For sure (being defending champion) always has some weight to it.

"Playing on a big court with a full house, that's going to give you some extra motivation in the situations like today when I was a set and 5-2 down.

"I was in the thought process that I am going to stay on the court as much as necessary."

It had been a trouble-free visit to New York for Djokovic, the lanky Serb not dropping a set while losing just 10 games going into his match against Seppi.

But the 25th-ranked Italian at least made Djokovic work for his spot in the round of 16, the world number one needing a tiring two and a half hours at Arthur Ashe Stadium to secure his victory.

"Just hanging in there, trying to create my own pace and control the rallies," Djokovic said about dealing with the capable and aggressive game of Seppi.

"It was a tough three sets."

Venus Williams, who won the second of her two U.S. Open titles 14 years ago, struck a blow for the older set and stayed on course for a quarter-finals collision with Grand Slam-seeking sister Serena by taming Swiss teen Belinda Bencic 6-3 6-4.

Venus, 35, produced a vintage power-game performance to beat the up-and-coming 18-year-old in a match-up between the oldest and youngest players left in the women's draw.

Williams, who played her first U.S. Open in 1997, the year 12th-seeded Swiss was born, had battled to a pair of three-set wins and spent nearly five hours on court to reach the third round.

However, the American made quick work of Bencic, who beat 2015 Australian, French and Wimbledon champion Serena Williams on her way to winning in Toronto last month.

"I just wanted to stay aggressive and keep my errors down," said Venus, who had also beaten Bencic in straight sets in their three previous encounters.

Joining the seven-times grand slam singles winner in the fourth round was Russian 13th seed Ekaterina Makarova, who advanced with 6-3 7-5 victory over 17th seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

(Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

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Murray defends decision to keep Maurismo as head coach

MANILA -- British tennis superstar Andy Murray defended his decision to keep Amelie Maurismo as head coach on Friday (November 28), following coaching changes after an overwhelming defeat in the ATP World Tour.

Murray, along with tennis superstars like Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams, is taking part in the three-day inaugural match-up in Manila for the first leg of the International Premier Tennis League competition.

Murray was defeated 6-5 by Croatian Marin Cilic in a five-minute shootout match at the start of the tournament on Friday (November 28).

Speaking at a post-match news conference, the Scot spoke about the type of training he wanted from Mauresmo and his goal on improving his ranking next year.

"Amelie always speaks about me going aggressively and never once spoken to me about trying to play defensive tennis, this was all that we practise, that's the set of mindset and gamestyle that I want to play. Sometimes you know it hasn't been possible, but you know we only spent six or seven weeks together, and since Wimbledon, I you know the match, sort of five or six weeks, and the off season, and the build up to the Australian open, I get to practice and things and I can work on some more stuff," he said.

Murray's overwhelming loss to Roger Federer at the ATP World Tour Finals brought the British tennis player to consider changing his coaching team, ending a long-time working relationship with his friends Dani Vallverdu and Jez Green.

US Open champion Marin Cilic was happy with his performance against Murray.

"It's tough to say because the rules are new and it's a different atmosphere. You play doubles for example, and you're sitting on the bench, cheering up your team mate and then you have to be ready for your match,to adjust different, and we need to adjust to be a little bit better better, so I think our match was on a good level and I think we had good rallies, and I played pretty good so you know Im happy to that," he said.

Modelled on the successful Indian Premier League cricket competition, the IPTL format involves a five-set format made up of a men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, mixed doubles and a past champions' singles match.

Players from the four teams competed in the new format, which used a team-scoring system, a 20-second shot clock and a call called a "power point" which players can make to double their point once per set.

Micromax Indian Aces dominated the first game against the Singapore Slammers, with mixed doubles partners Rohan Bopana and Sanria Mirza defeating Bruno Soares and Daniela Hatchunova. Succeeding matches led by Fabrice Santoro and Ana Ivanovic sealed the team's victory.

The Manila Mavericks lost to the UAE Royals on the second game, as Murray lost to Cilic in the men's singles.

Maria Sharapova managed to acquire the Maverick's only victory after defeating Kirstin Mlandenovic in the Women's Singles. Murray and Sharapova teamed up in the mixed doubles, but ultimately lost to Nenad Zimonjic and Kristina Mladenovic.

The competition in Manila will continue until Sunday (November 31), with further events taking place in Singapore, India and Dubai next month.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Djokovic to face Cilic at ATP finale, Murray to meet Federer

LONDON - Three-times champion and world number one Novak Djokovic has been drawn in a group with U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic in next week's season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London.

Defending champion Djokovic, who retained his Paris Masters title on Sunday after beating Milos Raonic, will also face Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka and hard-hitting Czech Tomas Berdych in Group A of the elite event staged at London's O2 Arena.

Djokovic takes a 27-match indoor winning streak into the tournament and Cilic, who is making his debut at the eight-man event, has not beaten the Serb in 10 previous encounters.

"It is going to be very difficult but very exciting," Cilic told the BBC. "I hope it is going to be an absolutely amazing experience, to play there for the first time. I have watched it on TV for so many years.

"Any of the matches could be a grand slam final so it is satisfying to play in it."

Second seed Roger Federer, who has won the year-ending tournament six times and who still has hopes of replacing Djokovic on top of the rankings before the end of the year, faces a clash in Group B with home favourite Andy Murray.

Murray, a three-times semi-finalist in London, and Federer have contested some titanic battles during their careers and there is very little to separate the two as they can both boast 11 wins apiece.

Former Wimbledon champion Murray, who won three titles in the past six weeks to secure a place at the tournament after slipping down the rankings, missed last year's tournament because of back surgery.

Debutants Raonic, the first Canadian singles player to qualify for the showpiece event, and Japan's Kei Nishikori, the first Asian-born man to qualify, complete the group.

World number three Rafael Nadal of Spain is missing because of surgery for appendicitis.

The lucrative tournament gets underway on Nov. 9.

Draw:

Group A: Novak Djokovic (Serbia), Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland), Tomas Berdych (Czech Rep), Marin Cilic (Croatia)

Group B: Roger Federer (Switzerland), Kei Nishikori (Japan), Andy Murray (Britain), Milos Raonic (Canada)

(Reporting By Michael Hann; editing by Martyn Herman and Pritha Sarkar)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com