"I mean, considering everything, against Roger in US Open" - Marin Cilic on the best match he has ever played
Marin Cilic said that his match against Roger Federer in the semifinals of the 2014 US Open was the best he has ever played.
Cilic beat Federer 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the final of the US Open where he defeated Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to win his maiden Grand Slam title. The Croat never won another match against Federer, losing to him in two Grand Slam finals, at Wimbledon in 2017 and the Australian Open in 2018.
The resurgence continues 📈
@cilic_marin advances to his first #RolandGarros semi-final, defeating Andrey Rublev 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6[10-2]. https://t.co/jxfK11qzJI
In his post-match press conference after beating Andrey Rublev in the French Open quarterfinals on Wednesday, Cilic was asked what was the best match he ever played.
He was quick to pick his US Open win against Federer, keeping in mind that the Swiss hadn't won a Slam in two years and received a majority of the crowd support in their encounter.
"I mean, considering everything, against Roger in US Open, because, you know, prior to our match, Novak lost to Kei, and then Roger also hasn't won I think in two years prior to that any Grand Slams, and also the crowd that I was faced against, you know, they were cheering obviously for Roger, full stadium. And to do it on such a level, it was, yeah, probably the best," Cilic said.
Absolutely fantastic achievement for me to be one of the only five active players with semifinals or better at all Grand Slams: Marin Cilic
Marin Cilic was also asked how he felt about doing well in all four Grand Slams in an era where the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have dominated.
The 33-year-old Croatian reached his maiden French Open semifinal by beating seventh seed Andrey Rublev in five sets.
The Croat said that it was a "fantastic achievement" for him to be one of only five active players to have reached the semifinals or better in all Grand Slams.
"Yeah, I mean, absolutely fantastic achievement for me," Cilic said. "To be, I think they mentioned to me, you know, just among them, I'm one of the only active guys with four semifinals or better on Grand Slams. I would say last few years coming back from 2017, I started to feel great on clay and had some great success. But, you know, in the end it's also such a short season for clay, it's difficult to time everything every single season," Cilic added.
Marin Cilic also said that he was enjoying himself on the court, playing his game and finding form.
"I'm feeling great on the court, enjoying myself, being me, playing my own game. It's paying off, and just, you know, enjoying the run. And, you know, obviously knew with my kind of level, with my tennis in last several years that I have, you know, been playing if I'm, you know, finding good form, good things are always happening. So, yeah, just extremely proud with that and really happy," he said.
Cilic will now Casper Ruud in the semifinals of the French Open. The Norwegian defeated Denmark's Holger Rune in four sets to reach the last four of a Major for the first time in his career.
23yo Casper Ruud beats 19yo Holger Rune 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal at #RolandGarros.
He will face Marin Cilic on Friday. https://t.co/Tn7nWpzYjd
Marin Cilic has lost both of his past meetings against Ruud but given his current form, there is a chance he could upset the eighth seed. If the 33-year-old wins he will become the first player since Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray to reach the final of all four Grand Slams.