Marin Cilic praised Juan Martin del Potro on Thursday, but was disappointed that he couldn’t reach the Roland Garros semi-finals for the first time. “Out of past five Grand Slams, I [have] made the quarter-finals or better in four of them, so that's quite pleasing,” said Cilic, after his four-set loss to Del Potro in Paris. “I felt that today I could have won this match, as well. It's always very bitter at the end of the match to know you have chances and then you lose that one. I know that Juan is a great player, [a] very great quality player, but still, it's a pity to lose like this.” [ALSO LIKE] The Croatian, who is currently in fifth...
Juan Martin del Potro and Marin Cilic are even at 6-6, 5/5 in the first set as rain has postponed their Roland Garros quarter-final until Thursday. Cilic did well to avoid danger while serving at 5-5, 0/30, when rain first suspended their match. The Croatian recovered, saving three break points to hold for the sixth straight time. The two are meeting for the 13th time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. Del Potro leads 10-2, including all four matchups on clay and three of four at Grand Slams. Del Potro won their 2012 Roland Garros third-round match in straight sets. [ALSO LIKE] Three years earlier, the 6'6” Argentine made his first Grand Slam semi-final at Roland Garros. He's looking to...
One year ago, Marin Cilic had never made the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in 10 previous attempts. He went on to become the first Croatian man to make it that far in Paris in more than a decade (Mario Ancic & Ivan Ljubicic, 2006). Yet just a year later, the Croatian now has a chance to go even further. Cilic battled past the resilient Italian, No. 18 seed Fabio Fognini, 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-3 on Monday to reach his second consecutive quarter-final on the Parisian terre battue. The victory not only gives him his 28th five-set victory, tying for second among active players with Novak Djokovic according to the FedEx ATP Performance Zone, but it ends Fognini's six-match winning...
Marin Cilic played with greater confidence on Thursday at Roland Garros, but experienced a tough route into the third round after he failed to convert one match point chance in the third set. The third-seeded Croatian recorded his 20th match win of the season (20-8) by beating past 21-year-old Polish qualifier Hubert Hurkacz 6-2, 6-2, 6-7(3), 7-5 in two hours and 50 minutes. "I felt that I just took my foot off the gas and just gave him a little bit more room to breathe," Cilic said. "I felt like I was constantly close to breaking. I just felt like I was not returning as good as I can and just missed some returns, especially in some critical moments. And...
Marin Cilic began his 12th tilt at the Roland Garros title by striking 47 winners, including 13 aces, on Tuesday. The third-seeded Croatian, improved to 19-8 on the season, by beating James Duckworth of Australia 6-3, 7-5, 7-6(4) in a rain-interrupted two hours and 14 minutes. “I was serving really good today,” said Cilic. “I believe I had quite a high percentage of first serve and was also winning points after my serve. [I experienced a] little bit of a loss of concentration at 5-4, when I was serving for the second set, and he came back. It was just a little bit difficult to get back straight at it. We didn't know when we were going back. We could...