Rafael Nadal: Marin Cilic makes Juan Martin del Potro claim at US Open
RAFAEL NADAL will have a slight advantage over Juan Martin del Potro when they meet in the US Open semi-final, says Marin Cilic.
US Open: Rafael Nadal reflects on Dominic Thiem win
Nadal beat Dominic Thiem in an epic five-set battle yesterday to set up a tie with Del Potro, who beat John Isner earlier in the day.
Cilic was hoping to face the winner in the final but his tournament was cut short by a surprise loss to Kei Nishikori - who will go on to face Novak Djokovic in the other semi-final.
Nadal and Del Potro put on their own five-set thriller at Wimbledon two months ago and Cilic is expecting a similar tussle this time around.
But the Croatian believes the world No 1 will be stronger in the rallies - making him the slight favourite.
“Looking just at their match-ups, previous, even this year, French Open and Wimbledon, Wimbledon I didn't watch, but French Open I did a little bit, and even here last year, I think in the rallies, Rafa was slightly better and he was able to expose Juan Martin in the rallies,” Cilic said.
“I feel that this tournament, Juan Martin is hitting a little bit bigger off his backhand. That can help him.
“You know, in the other case, Rafa had a tougher draw to go through the semis, but, you know, he's got two days now to recover, so he's gonna be fresh.
“I don't know. I would give slight advantage to Rafa, but I feel it's gonna be a great match.”
Even though Cilic crashed out of the US Open in the quarter-finals, he was still able to draw positives from the tournament.
“Yeah, definitely. It's been a good tournament,” he added.
“I had some tough matches coming to the court. I also was not feeling maybe the best in some cases.
“I had some ups and downs during the tournament, but I was, you know, fighting good, fighting hard.
“That was one of the very positive things. Battled also with the heat quite well.
“Just a little bit disappointed obviously with the loss today. It was a good chance, as well, big battle to go into the semis, but just well done to Kei.”