PARIS, June 02 (ABC): Croatia’s Marin Cilic fired 33 aces past seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev to reach his first French Open semi-final on Wednesday with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (10/2) win.
Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, also crashed 88 winners in the four-hour 10-minute tie and will play either eighth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway or Danish teenager Holger Rune for a place in Sunday’s final.
The 33-year-old Cilic becomes only the fifth active men’s player after Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray to make the semi-finals at all four Slams.
“The fifth set was an incredible battle,” said Cilic who is in his first Slam semi-final in four years.
“Andrey played so well. Today was my day. He just didn’t have the luck.”
Rublev, playing and eventually losing his fifth quarter-final at the majors, grabbed the first set but wilted under a Cilic barrage over the next two.
The Croatian had stunned world number two Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round and he rediscovered that free-swinging assault to level the contest with a 17th ace on a fifth set point.
He pocketed the third with a lone break in the seventh game.
Rublev, who had knocked Cilic out of the Australian Open in January, battled back with a crucial break in the eighth game of the fourth set.
Cilic, the 2017 Wimbledon and 2018 Australian Open runner-up to Federer, had a match point saved in the ninth game of the decider but swept through the super tiebreaker.
In the night match, 19-year-old Holger Rune of Denmark takes on Norwegian eighth seed Casper Ruud as both men eye landmark runs to the semi-finals.