Just a year ago, as Marin Cilic fell outside of the top 40 and seemed to lose against a lesser player every week, it was not easy to envision him rebounding back to the very top of his sport. But this year at the French Open he has done so, reaching the semi-final here for the first time in his career by defeating Andrey Rublev, the seventh seed, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) in one of the best matches of the tournament so far.
“The win comes from being me, I played that kind of tennis the whole match, especially the fifth set was an incredible battle,” Cilic said after the match. The Croatian’s next opponent will be Casper Ruud, after the No 8 seed beat Holger Rune 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the night session on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
