Let's start here: No one is predicting Rafael Nadal will lose at Roland Garros. The Spaniard is a 10-time champion at the clay-court Grand Slam and, at times this year, the 31-year-old has looked better than ever on clay. Before losing to Dominic Thiem in the Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals on 11 May, Nadal had clay-court winning streaks of 50 sets – an Open Era record – and 21 matches. But legends do stumble. So if, on the off chance that Nadal has a bad day in Paris, who might have a chance at challenging him? We present six who could trouble Rafa on la terre battue. [ALSO LIKE] Keep in mind, however, these six – Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem,...
Marin Cilic reflects on his win against Pablo Carreno Busta on Friday at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia to advance to his first clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com.
Marin Cilic advanced to his first clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final on Friday in a polished performance at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The fourth-seeded Croatian was solid on serve, good in defence and gave little away in a 6-3, 6-3 victory over No. 10 seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain over 66 minutes. “I’m feeling great [after reaching] my first semi-final on clay at a Masters 1000 event,” said Cilic. That's a good achievement. I was waiting many years for it to happen, so it’s definitely a happy moment for sure. “I served incredibly well, both on first and second serve. That was extremely important. It gave me a lot of freedom in my game. When I'm serving...
World No. 5 Marin Cilic discusses his win at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia against Benoit Paire on Thursday, and looks ahead to his quarter-final matchup against Pablo Carreno Busta. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com.
After reaching this year's Australian Open final, Marin Cilic struggled to find his best form, reaching one quarter-final in five events. But it appears that the World No. 5 is poised for a run at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. Cilic overcame an early break in the second set to oust Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-4 in 87 minutes on Thursday, reaching the quarter-finals in Rome for the third time and for the second consecutive year. "Benoit is an extremely difficult player to play. Never know what to expect from him," Cilic said. "I'm really happy with the way I was playing and hitting the ball." The Croatian still seeks his first tour-level title of the season, which would give him...
