US Open 2022: Marin Cilic vs Dan Evans preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (15) Marin Cilic vs (20) Dan Evans.
Date: September 3, 2022.
Tournament: US Open 2022.
Round: Third round (Round of 32).
Venue: New York, United States.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $60,102,000.
Live telecast: USA - ESPN & ESPN2 | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Sony Liv, Sony Ten & Sony Six.
Marin Cilic vs Dan Evans preview
2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic will square off against World No. 23 Dan Evans in the third round of the 2022 US Open on Saturday.
Cilic defeated qualifier Maximilian Marterer in the first round to set up a second-round clash with Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The Croat was off to a flying start as he jumped to a 4-1 lead in the opening set, which put him on course to take the set.
Both players held break points on each other's serve at the start of the second set and later exchanged four breaks of serve between them. With Cilic serving to stay in the set at 5-4, Ramos-Vinolas held a set point on his serve but failed to close it out. He paid dearly for it, as the former US Open champion ended up winning the set in the tie-break afterwards.
Both players remained solid on serve for the first half of the third set. Cilic snagged a break of serve in the sixth game, which sealed the match in his favor. Within the next few minutes, he wrapped up the proceedings to win 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
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He takes out Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 to continue on in NY!
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A comfortable win over Jiri Vesely put Dan Evans in the second round, where James Duckworth awaited him. The Brit bagged an early break in the first set to go 3-1 up. After wasting five break points in the seventh game to further extend his lead, he broke his opponent's serve in the ninth game to clinch the set.
After steady holds by the duo to start the second set, Evans won the last four games to take the set. With his back against the wall, Duckworth found his groove and raised his level. The Australian fought back to bag the third set. He even broke his opponent's serve to start the fourth set and, with a hold of his own, made it 2-0.
However, Duckworth's momentum soon came to a grinding halt. Evans broke back to level the score at 3-3. With the Australian serving to stay in the match at 5-4, the World No. 23 made his move. He broke his opponent's serve one last time to win the match 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
Marin Cilic vs Dan Evans head-to-head
Evans leads Cilic 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2017 Australian Open in four sets.
Marin Cilic vs Dan Evans odds
(All odds sourced from BetMGM)
Marin Cilic vs Dan Evans prediction
Both players have looked quite solid in their couple of wins at the US Open so far. The big task for Evans will be to find a way to make inroads on Cilic's serve. The Croat hammered 16 aces in the second round, while winning 85% of his first serve points. The duo hit slightly more unforced errors than winners in the previous round, though the ratio wasn't lopsided enough to be worrisome.
Evans' biggest strength is that he isn't afraid to mix it up. Drop shots, frequent slices, consistently changing the pace of the rallies - the Brit doesn't let his opponent settle into a rhythm. He bides his time patiently until it's time to strike.
Cilic will have his hands full in dealing with Evans, but he's certainly capable of rising to the occasion. His groundstrokes have more firepower in them, but he'll need to be precise with his shots and end the points quickly, otherwise, it just plays to his opponent's strengths.
Evans is a tricky opponent to navigate and has the potential to score an upset win here. Cilic has had a better season so far and based on that, he'll be the favorite to come out on top.
Pick: Marin Cilic to win in five sets.