"He is an incredible fighter, possibly the greatest on tour, he can only be compared to Rafa" - Marin Cilic on Stefanos Tsitsipas 

Former World No. 3 Marin Cilic compared the fighting spirit of Greek superstar Stefanos Tsitsipas to that of 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.

In a recent interview with the Greek website SDNA, Cilic lauded Tsitsipas's "incredible willpower" and backed him to "achieve great things."

"What I like about him is that he has incredible willpower and he is an incredible fighter, possibly the greatest on tour, he can only be compared to Rafa. I'm sure he'll come back and achieve great things," said Cilic.

Tsitsipas made a shock exit from the US Open, losing against Columbian Daniel Elahi Galan in the first round. While Cilic was unsure what happened to the Greek in the first two sets, he sympathized with him and said "these things can happen."

"It's hard to say clearly what happened," he said. "I saw on TV the score, the first two sets. These things can happen, I don't know what could have happened. Then he played well, anyway. However, he lost a set and was out of the tournament, it can happen."

"The preparation, my feeling on the court, the game, everything is there" - Marin Cilic

Marin Cilic returns a shot against Daniel Evans during their third-round match at the 2022 US Open - Day 6

Marin Cilic reached the fourth round of the US Open on Saturday after defeating Dan Evans in a thrilling match, 7-6(11), 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5.

In his post-match press conference, Cilic said that while he still had the game to win big tournaments, the question was whether he could deliver when it really mattered.

"I think yes. The preparation, my feeling on the court, the game, everything is there. The question is whether you will show them in a single tournament or in several. That's always the goal," he stated.

Cilic said that he enjoys the best-of-five format at Grand Slams because it gives him extra time to find his form. He added that he believes he can achieve even bigger things in the sport.

"However, I feel that I can play very well and especially in Grand Slams, playing best-of-five gives you extra time on the court, an opportunity to feel it better, to feel the conditions," he said. "And this allows you to find good form. That's what I'm after, that's what I'm working for. Like you said, I've achieved great things in my career, but I still feel like I can do even bigger things that I haven't achieved yet."

Marin Cilic will take on third seed Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round of the 2022 US Open.