Croatia’s Marin Cilic lost the first set to Andrey Rublev, but he came back to win the next three of four sets over Phillippe-Chatrier.
Marin Cilic of Croatia. Thanks to: Reuters
Marin Cilic of Croatia. Thanks to: Reuters
HIGHLIGHTS
- Marin Cilic defeats Anfrey Rublev in five sets
- Cilic will compete against Casper Ruud or Holger Rune
- Rublev lost the first set but made a great comeback
Croatian Marin Cilic has qualified for the semifinals of the 2022 French Open after beating Russian Andrey Rublev in a thrilling five-setter in the Phillippe-Chatrier on Wednesday, June 1.
As the higher ranking player of the two, Rublev started the match by winning the first set. But Cilic made a great comeback, winning the second and third set. Rublev somehow regained his foothold in the match after winning the fourth set.
In the fifth and final set, both Cilic and Rubley threw punches at each other and it ended in a tiebreak. From then on, Rublev seemed to have lost a lot of steam and Cilic kept churning one point after another.
Cilic was outstanding when it came to beating winners, drawing a whopping 88, compared to his opponent’s 35. Cilic also made 33 aces to keep Rublev at bay and sharp.
Cilic is next to the winner of Casper Ruud and Holger Rune in the semifinals. In the other semi-final, Spanish tennis Rafael Nadal, also the winner of 13 French Open titles, and world No. 3 Alexander Zverev will close the horns.
In women’s singles, the world’s number 1 Iga Swiatek and Daria Kasaktina will face each other in one of the semifinals. In the other semifinal, Coco Gauff and Martina Trevisan from the US will cross swords.
Gauff will compete in her first Grand Slam semifinal after beating US Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.