Marin Cilic’s birthplace in the mountains between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina has about 4,000 residents. Most of them raise livestock or grow tobacco and, supposedly, they also produce a decent wine. But the competition to be the town’s biggest sensation is steep.

Cilic is doing his best to work his name into local lore, but it will take a lot more than his first appearance in a Grand Slam quarter-final to upstage an apparition. On Thursday, Cilic lost to Juan Martín del Potro, 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-1 at the US Open.

Meteoric rise

Cilic may even look for advice from del Potro, whose meteoric rise the last couple of years has made him a dark-horse contender at every tournament he plays. Del Potro capitalised on the progress he made during his memorable 2008 season to make the quarter-finals in three of the last four Grand Slams.

“When you fight until the final, you have many opportunities to win, and that’s what I did today,” del Potro said on the court after his victory.

With winds swirling around the bowl of Arthur Ashe Stadium on an overcast afternoon, Cilic struck the first blow in the hard-swinging match between the tallest players remaining in the draw. At 6 feet 6, Cilic commanded his serve beautifully through the first set, never allowing del Potro so much as a break point.

Cilic’s early charge in the third set saw him take a 2-0 lead after a quick break.

It took some sumptuous shots off the forehand and renewed confidence in his serve for del Potro to rediscover his range. Beautifully moving his long, black-clad frame about the court, del Potro put together his strongest stretch of the match. He took 10 of the next 11 games to lock up the second and third sets with authority beyond his 20 years.

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