Day 11 recap: Cilic is into the semis, Bryan brothers to go for 100 titles

Author:
Courtney Nguyen
Publish date:
Sep 4, 2014

NEW YORK -- A resurgent and rejuvenated Marin Cilic advanced to the semifinals on Day 11, while a few familiar names will be contesting what will be a compelling doubles final match this weekend.

What happened

Marin Cilic puts the past behind him: A year ago, Cilic was sitting on his couch watching the U.S. Open. He had been suspended for an anti-doping violation, after reportedly accidentally ingesting a banned substance contained in over-the-counter glucose pills purchased by his mother. He served a four-month ban and returned to the tour last fall ranked at No. 41. He teamed up with Goran Ivanesevic and the Croatian great re-tooled his serve to turn it into a more effective weapon.

Q&A with Marin Cilic

Cilic had a big serve but he didn't know how to use it effectively; however, it's all coming together here in New York. Cilic advanced to his second Slam semifinal with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over No. 7 Tomas Berdych. He's now won six consecutive sets off Berdych. The win came after a five-set win over Gilles Simon and a four set win over Kevin Anderson a round before. This is a calm and confident Cilic, and one who is holding serve easily this tournament. Against Berdych he routinely held serve in one-minute games, which loosened him up to go for big returns and break.

Bob and Mike Bryan book a spot in the final: Title No. 100 is still on the line as the twins advanced to their third U.S. Open in five years with a three set win over Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram. They'll play No. 11 seeds Marc Lopez and Marcel Granollers.

U.S. Open by the Numbers

23,771

The number of seats in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest tennis stadium in the world. In 1997, the venue, which also has 90 luxury suites, five restaurants and a two-level players’ lounge, replaced Louis Armstrong stadium as the primary court at the Open. A $100 million retractable roof will be completed over the stadium by the end of 2017.

51

Number of concession stands at the U.S. Open. In 2013, 225,000 hamburgers and hot dogs, and 7.5 tons of crab, shrimp and lobster were served. In addition 18,000 pounds of unused food was donated to the community

180,000

Number of feet of string (about 34 miles) that will be used during the 2014 Open. Wilson will string approximately 4,500 racquets for the tournament and on its busiest day, will string between 400 and 450.

70,000

Number of tennis balls used at the U.S. Open.

1,428

Number of credentialed media that covered the 2013 U.S. Open, representing 42 countries. The tournament was broadcast to 200 nations.

721,059

Number of fans who attended the 2009 U.S. Open, an alltime tournament record. The 2013 tournament was represented by a fan from each of the 50 states.

70

Number of matches won in Arthur Ashe Stadium by Serena Williams through the 2014 round of 16, the most by any player since the stadium’s inaugural year in 1997. Williams is competing for her third consecutive Open title, sixth overall, and her 18th Grand Slam win.

262

Ball persons used at the 2013 U.S. Open out of 400 people who tried out.

Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina into the doubles final: Makarova's great tournament continues. She and partner Vesnina are into the final with a win over Kimiko Date-Krumm and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. They'll play...wait...do my eyes deceive me? Martina Hingis is into a Slam final. The Hall of Famer teamed up with Flavia Pennetta this time and the pair are into the final after beating Cara Black and Sania Mirza in straight sets. It's Hingis' first Slam final of any kind since she made both the doubles and singles finals at the 2002 Australian Open.

Photo of the day

Quote of the day

Bob Bryan, on going for title No. 100: "We're not feeling the pressure to do it in any way. Because it's going to happen eventually. It's not like, Oh, my God. We're going to be stuck on 99 forever. We're both confident we'll knock down the title at some point. It would be cool to do it here."