Marin Cilic and Kyle Edmund will be squaring off for the second time in their careers and for the second time in less than four months when they battle for a place in the Australian Open final on Thursday night. Cilic won their only previous meeting 6-3, 7-6(5) last fall on the hard courts of Shanghai.
From the second round of a Masters 1000 tournament to the semifinals of a major, it is safe to say the stakes have skyrocketed for Edmund. And they are stakes for which the 23-year-old has never played in his career. He had never previously advanced past the fourth round of a Grand Slam and his career-ranking is No. 40 in the world (he currently registers at 49th). Edmund almost did not even survive the opening round of this one. At the mercy of the draw as an unseeded floater, Edmund ran into world No. 12 and 2017 U.S. Open runner-up Kevin Anderson right off the bat but managed to engineer a five-set upset. He also needed five sets against Nikoloz Basilashvili in round three to go along with four-set victories over Andreas Seppi and third-ranked Grigor Dimitrov. Only Denis Istomin was disposed of in straight sets during second-round action.
“I am loving it right now; just the way I’m playing,” Edmund said after upsetting Dimitrov in the quarterfinals. “I’m 23 years old, (in) my first Grand Slam semifinal; first time I played on one of the biggest courts in the world. To beat a quality of player like Grigor…of course, all these things I’m aware of. They’re great feelings. You don’t obviously play in the semifinals of a Grand Slam every day, or (even) a quarters.
“So, yeah, I just try to enjoy it as much as possible. I knew I was in a good place (going into the quarters). There’s no reason why my tennis wasn’t good enough to win. It’s obviously about going out there and doing it.”
Cilic is no stranger to doing it big at Grand Slams. The 6’6” Croat captured the U.S. Open title in 2014 and he went all the way to the Wimbledon final in 2017 before losing to Roger Federer. Following an injury-plagued second half of last season, Cilic is back in business now. He has advanced so far in Melbourne with defeats of Vasek Pospisil, Joao Sousa, Ryan Harrison, Pablo Carreno Busta, Rafael Nadal–the latter via a fifth-set retirement on Tuesday.
“I’m going to prepare for [this] match like for any other one,” Cilic explained. “Kyle (has) had amazing run here–a lot of tough matches, played great tennis. He’s also very entertaining to watch; big hitter, great serve, great forehand–plays great on the hard courts.
“For me, (it’s) another good opportunity. Obviously on the paper (it’s) probably easier to play him than Rafa. But still he deserved a lot to be here at the spot where he is. For me a big focus is to continue with my own game. I cannot influence him much across the net, but (I’m) going to try to take care of my things on my part of the court. Hopefully I’m going to have another great match.”
There is no reason to think anything other than a great performance by Cilic will be the case. The world No. 6 has been on this stage multiple times in the past and up tot this point at Melbourne Park he has been showcasing the level that was on display during his run to the U.S. Open winner’s trophy four years ago. Edmund has the big-hitting game that can go toe to toe with Cilic, but experience may be the overriding factor in this one.
Pick: Cilic in 4
[polldaddy poll=9924619]
who ya got?
Cilic in 5
Cilic in four
I know Ricky was unbudging in his belief that Cilic was always going to win against Rafa, but I feel Rafa could’ve won that one in 5 had it not been for his injury. Real shame as I’d have fancied his chances to get to the final right now.
As for this one, Cilic in 4.
Arthur I agree with you.
Before the match, I thought it could go either way after Rafa’s poor performance vs Schwartzman but during the Cilic match, Rafa had that determination that to me was an indication that he would weather the storm and Cilic would eventually fold while Rafa would rise to the challenge (as he showed by winning the third set).
Wasn’t to be. He’s still the best of all time in my opinion. Vamos Rafa no matter what.
Edmund in 5
Cilic is on fire. I’ve watched him closely this whole tournament and he’s playing career best tennis right now and I suspected he’d beat Nadal injured or not. Edmund’s had a great run and had a big future. I predicted he’d do well this tournament based in recent performances.
This new group of players coming through are exciting.
Cilic in 4 and a big chance to win the final
If Edmund can continue to serve like he has been, I like his chances. He has some big weapons and is playing with a lot of confidence, well above his ranking. He will have the crowd behind him. I also suspect Cilic will have a bit of a letdown after beating Rafa. Edmund in 4.
Cilic rarely loses to lower ranked players at this stage if a grand slam even if they are playing way advice they’re ranking. Edmund has weapons but Cilic is one player that can handle them and Cilic just seems to find that bit more extra against players outside the top 3.
Dimitrov wasn’t playing his best tennis here, I noticed this at the start of the AO and Edmund in this form was able to capitalise on the two handed to single handed backhand. He’ll have no such luck here. I think Edmund wins at least a set but Cilic will have a bit too much when in this kind of form.
I think Cilic can beat Fed they way he’s playing at the moment on this surface which is a credit to him because he could’ve disappeared for 12 months after his no show in the Wimbledon final.
Fed will destroy Cilic in the finals! Cilic is mentally weak and Fed above all can take advantage of those type of players (ex:Berdy match) If Rafa wasn’t injured he would have beaten this Cilic! Edmund is inexperienced in big matches and that will cost him, otherwise he would have had a chance against Croat!
Cilic in 5.
I think experience will count, and Edmund is a bit limited on his huge forehand, if the ball is bouncing low he could struggle.
Fed won’t destroy Cilic on this surface playing in this kind of form, no way. Agree, Berdych is a terrible matchup but it’s not such the case against Cilic even though Fed does have a mental edge over him.
I’m loving Chung also, most exciting player since Djokovic. Top 3 material and a potential world number one. Fed will not be taking him lightly at all but should have a bit too much craft and variety to move Chung around and expose his smaller size. Fed will make him play a lot of short balls and force him into the net but don’t underestimate Chung, he’s only dropped sets against Zverez and is genuine top 3 material IMO
Chung is not small, he’s 6’2” tall weighing 192 lbs. He’s taller than Fed and heavier than Fed. He’s kind of stout, making him looks shorter than he really is.
He certainly has powerful legs, not unlike young Rafa! He’s incredibly quick around the court, won’t be an easy opponent for Fed or Cilic I feel.
I rate Chung on potential better than Murray, Wawrinka and Del Potro
Going with the upset…Edmund in 4.
I think is 50:50 chances for both players; if I have to choose, I say Cilic in five, based on him being the more experienced of the two.
I expected Cilic to win, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be quite this easy…
Congrats to Marin for reaching the final. It’s a straight forward match, much easier than what most of us expect. Cilic will rise to no.3 in the rankings with this win, so well done to him.
Not a bad result for Edmund, he’ll certainly get to a good ranking after this, perhaps making life a bit easier for him going forward.