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US Open: Defending champion Cilic fights back to live another day

Last updated on: September 05, 2015 02:01 IST

Marin Cilic of Croatia hits a backhand against Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan during their 3rd round match at the 2015 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Friday

IMAGE: Croatia's Marin Cilic hits a backhand against Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin during their 3rd round match at the 2015 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Friday. Photograph: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports/Reuters

Defending champion Marin Cilic had to battle hard before beating Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 5-1 in their 3rd round match of the US Open on Friday.

Cilic stepped onto the Grandstand court having won 16 straight sets at Flushing Meadows but that string quickly came to an end when the 56th-ranked Kukushkin took the opening set in a tiebreak in what was the start of a long and harrowing afternoon for the defending champion.

For four sets, the 27-year-old from Kazakhstan gave Cilic all he could handle and more but in the fifth he simply ran out of steam.

Kukushin who ran out of gas in the end gave in easily in the last set.

Cilic broke Kukushkin in the 5th set to go up 5-0 but the latter played well and forced Cilic to serve for the match.

Cilic, who had seven double faults, he was unable to put the match away easily and faced break-point at 30-40 in the seventh game of the set, but he ended the match with his 27th ace.