Marin Cilic Says He Was ‘Emotionally Drained’ by the End of Andrey Rublev 5 Setter

Marin Cilic is having a giant-killing run at the French Open 2022. In the fourth round of the tournament, the Croatian tennis star overcame the challenge of World Number 2, Daniil Medvedev. Yesterday, he caused another massive upset, knocking out in-form Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals.

It was a thrilling display by the hard-hitting Croatian, who overcame some nervy moments to get the better of Rublev. Moreover, the match went right down to the wire, with Cilic prevailing in the super-tiebreaker in the fifth set to enter his maiden semifinal at Roland Garros. After the match, Cilic opened up about his victory over the seventh seed.

Marin Cilic reflects on his quarterfinal victory over Andrey Rublev

During the post-match press conference after his last-eight win over Rublev, Cilic talked about his performance in the match. He said, “It was a very mentally and physically difficult match. And, I would say, high quality from both of us. Andrey played also at a great level. I think he’s one of the most consistent guys on the tour, hitting big, and then serving big, so I had to play my big game. And luckily, I was serving fantastic today.”

DIVE DEEPER: ‘He Is Part of the History of Roland-Garros’ – Carlos Moya Questions French Open Organizers for Scheduling the Match Between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic During the Night Session

Further, he added, “What a battle. I can’t say anything more. It was really, really close at the end in the fifth set, and he had a breakpoint at five-all, and I hit an Ace, then I had a match point there. A really long point, but overall, really emotionally draining.”

Cilic achieves an illustrious feat at the French Open 2022

With his win over Rublev, the 33-year-old joined the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray to become the fifth active player to reach the semi-finals of all four major tournaments in men’s singles. It was a well-deserved moment for the Croatian, having worked hard to achieve this feat.

WATCH THIS STORY: Novak Djokovic’s epic finals against Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Andy Murray, Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open

In the semifinals, Cilic will face Norway’s Casper Ruud. The latter had defeated Holger Rune in the other quarterfinal later yesterday.