Querrey vs Cilic: American Falls in Marathon Clash with Marin Cilic

It took five hours and 31 minutes, but Marin Cilic finally moved on to the fourth round at Wimbledon. He knocked off American Sam Querrey in an epic survival of the fittest.

The final set tally looks more like a powerball number than a tennis score: 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 6-7 (3-7) 17-15. This was the second-longest match in Wimbledon history.

It wasn't quite as long as the John Isner-Nicolas Mahut clash in 2010. That match lasted 11 hours and 183 games played. But I'm sure if you asked Querrey or Cilic, they would say they felt as though they'd played that long.

Cilic was finally able to close out Querrey after squandering opportunities to move on throughout the tiebreakers.

Although he handled the 6'6" Querrey's powerful serves well, he could have made this match easier on himself by taking advantage of his own service opportunities. He will now face the winner of the Marcos Baghdatis-Andy Murray match in the fourth round.

It will be a tough task for Cilic. After expending so much energy, both physically and emotionally, he will have to dig deep to challenge his next opponent.

Querrey's loss means that hopes for an American male contender at Wimbledon are dwindling fast. Andy Roddick also went down in flames today.

He had won the first set against David Ferrer but dropped the next three.

Now Mardy Fish and Brian Baker are the only American men still alive at Wimbledon.

Follow Brian Mazique and Franchiseplay.net for reactions, analysis and news from the world of sports and sports video games

Follow @BrianMazique

Follow @franchiseplay