Croatia's Marin Cilic smashed 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.
With this, Cilic has become the first Croatian to reach all four Grand Slam semi-finals.
Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, will play either eighth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway or Danish teenager Holger Rune for a place in Sunday's final.
Rublev is seeded number 7 by the renowned sports association, ATP. Cilic is seeded at number 23. They plated a five-set thriller in which Rublev won the first and fourth set and Cilic clinched the second, third and fifth set.
Cilic had defeated World number 2, Daniil Medvedev, in straight sets in the previous round. The Croatian Cilic is the 2014 US open champion and this is his best run at the French Open. He also reached Quarter Finals in 2017 and 2018.
Rublev had defeated 11th seed J Sinner in the previous round in straight sets. This is his best run at the French Open too. He reached the Quarter Finals in 2020 as well.
In April 2022, Rublev stunned World Number 1 ranked Novak Djokovic in the final to win the Serbia Open.
( With inputs from ANI )
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