adminPARIS. – Croatia’s Marin Cilic prevailed in a fifth-set tie-break against Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev to reach his first French Open semi-final.
Cilic, the 20th seed, won 5-7 6-3 6-4 3-6 7-6 (10-2) in a captivating four-hour match on Court Philippe Chatrier.
He will face Casper Ruud in the last four after the Norwegian eighth seed ended Holger Rune’s fairy tale run.
Unseeded Dane Rune, 19, had reached the last eight on his Roland Garros debut but bowed out 6-1 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3.
Ruud meets 2014 US Open champion Cilic, 33, on Friday for a place in the final against 13-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal or world number three Alexander Zverev.
Cilic fired down 33 aces and 88 winners to edge a heavy-hitting contest against Rublev in Paris.
He became only the fifth active men’s player to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments.
Cilic joins current world number one Novak Djokovic and former top-ranked players Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray in managing that feat.
“It’s an absolutely fantastic achievement for me, to be mentioned among them – these guys have been at the top of the game for so many years,” said Cilic.
A fifth-set tie-break seemed a fitting end to an enthralling four hour and 10-minute battle on Chatrier – and it was Cilic who rose to the occasion.
The world number 23 closed out the match by winning nine successive points from 2-1 behind in the 10-point tie-break to secure his first major semi-final in four years.
Rublev had survived a match point on his own serve when trailing 5-4 in the fifth, before failing to convert a break point in the following game, and his wait for a maiden Grand Slam semi-final goes on. – BBC Sport.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter