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...
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal might have seen his consecutive sets streak at Roland Garros snapped at 37 on Wednesday against No. 11 seed Diego Schwartzman. But while the Spaniard fell short of Bjorn Borg's record of 41 straight sets on the terre battue, the top seed charged ahead Thursday after two rain delays, beating the Argentine 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Ten-time champion Nadal clinched the two points he needed as play resumed Thursday afternoon to level the score at a set apiece against Schwartzman of Argentina in their quarter-final. And from there, the Spaniard did not look back. "I played more aggressive. I continued the level of intensity that I played after the first stop. And in my opinion,...
Juan Martin del Potro will return to the Top 4 of the ATP Rankings for the first time since February 2014 on Monday after advancing to the Roland Garros semi-finals for the second time (also 2009). The sixth-seeded Argentine fought back from 1-3 down in the third set on Thursday to beat third seed Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, in a rain-interrupted two-day victory over three hours and 50 minutes. “I'm feeling so, so happy that I made the right decision for play here,” said Del Potro, smiling. “I am doing well. Of course, I didn't expect to get in semi-finals a couple of weeks before. But now I'm here, and I'm still alive. Physically I’m good,...
France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut claimed the last spot in the Roland Garros semi-final line-up on Wednesday, defeating South American duo Maximo Gonzalez and Nicolas Jarry 6-4, 7-6(8). Herbert and Mahut won 75 per cent of first-serve points and saved four set points at 5-6 down in the second set before securing victory in one hour, 54 minutes. The sixth seeds, who won their 11th team title at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in February, will face Mutua Madrid Open champions Nikola Mektic and Alexander Peya in the last four, as they aim to move one step closer to becoming the third all-French team in the Open Era to lift the Roland Garros title. On the other side...
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...
