Defending champ Cilic rises to occasion

Defending men's champion Marin Cilic eased into the third round with a straight sets win yesterday.

After playing his opening match on an outside court, Cilic took his U.S. Open title defense back to Arthur Ashe Stadium and looked right at home, storming into the third round with a 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 win over Russian qualifier Evgeny Donskoy.

"This court is very special for me, brings back special memories," the ninth-seeded Cilic said. "It's sort of unreal."

"I was working all my life to win a Grand Slam and now I'm in position to defend one."