It ain’t over til it’s over.
Eight years have passed since Marin Cilic reached the zenith of his career with victory at the US Open, and the Croatian last featured at the business end of a major in 2018. He is no longer in the bloom of youth but, at 33 going on 25, he remains as fit as a fiddle. and is enjoying an unexpected Indian summer at Roland Garros.
With a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (10-2) victory over seventh seed Andrey Rublev, the highest-ranked player remaining in the lower half of the draw, Cilic completed a full house of grand slam semi-finals. In the process, he claimed a little slice of tennis history, becoming the only active player outside the big four of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray to make the semi-finals or better at all four slams.
“Absolutely fantastic achievement for me,” said the 20th-seeded Cilic, who also led Croatia to the Davis Cup title four years ago. “These guys have been [at] the top of the game for so many years. Looking at my own career, I had some obviously huge successes and won so many things. But also comparing to the top guys, I was not as consistent, you know. Had three, four seasons that were incredibly good, incredibly consistent, but I was a little bit in and out.
“I’m just trying to use my opportunities as much as I can during my career every day, every match, to give my best and to [make sure] when I go out of the game that I’m absolutely proud.”
It is a knack that Rublev, who has now lost all five of the slam quarter-finals he has contested, has yet to acquire. There can be no doubting the Russian’s heart and endeavour. Yet for all the battering-ram potency of his service and loose-limbed forehand, the 24-year-old finished the contest with only 35 winners – less than half Cilic’s 88. There is also a question mark over whether he has the ruthlessness required at this rarefied level. Twice in the deciding set he intervened to overrule calls in Cilic’s favour and, while his sportsmanship was commendable, not every rival would be so generous at such a juncture.
It will come as scant consolation to Rublev that, after failing to win a set in his previous last-eight appearances in New York, Paris and Melbourne, he is getting closer. Afterwards, he bemoaned his inability to roll with the emotional and psychological pressures of the situation.
“Mental, everything [is] mental,” said Rublev. “I couldn’t manage. I couldn’t manage the emotions the previous times. And now it was the closest ever time that I was able to go through to be in semis. Again, the same thing, I didn’t manage the emotions. I don’t know if I did it better compared to other matches. At least I did a better score and I was closer than in other matches, but still, it is the same thing.”
For all his self-flagellation, Rublev fought back doggedly to build a lead after losing the opening set, and saved a match point on his serve in the 10th game of the decider. But it was Cilic’s heavy artillery that told in the end, the 20th seed running away with the final nine points of the first match tiebreak contested at a slam since the format was standardised across the four competitions in March. A fourth major final seems well within the grasp of the evergreen Croatian.
“Feeling good,” said Cilic breezily. “I was talking with my doctor at the end of last year and he said, ‘Your body’s like 25.’ Don’t tell my wife I’m saying this, [but] I might be playing another 10 years.”
Cilic will face Casper Ruud in the last four after the Norwegian eighth seed came through 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 against the Danish teenager Holger Rune. In the first all-Scandinavian grand slam quarter-final in history, it was Ruud who made the early running, racing to a 5-0 lead before Rune found his range to level the match. Ruud saw an early break cancelled out in the third set, but seized control of the tiebreak and the match to reach his first major semi-final.
“These are the matches you dream about playing, and hopefully of course even the final, if it’s possible,” said Ruud, who shook his head in disapproval after Rune offered a perfunctory handshake at the end. “I have to be really focused and bring my A game in the semi-final because Marin has played great all week and it’s going to be another tough match.”