There are no top-four seeds remaining in the bottom half of the draw, so a spot in the final is there for the taking. The last unseeded player in the field, Holger Rune, is facing Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev is going up against Marin Cilic.
(8) Casper Ruud vs. Holger Rune
It will be an all- Scandinavian quarterfinal when Ruud and Rune go head-to-head on Wednesday night. Ruud is sweeping the head-to-head series 3-0, but there is no reason for Rune to be discouraged. After getting crushed on clay last season in Monte-Carlo and Bastad, the 19-year-old was much more competitive last month in Monte-Carlo with a 7-6(5), 7-5 loss.
Rune is rising fast and has to be an even more confident player than he was at the beginning of this clay-court swing. The Dane is up to 40th in the rankings and he will climb to No. 28 even if he loses this match. So far at Roland-Garros he has ousted Denis Shapovalov, Henri Laaksonen, Hugo Gaston, and Stefanos Tsitsipas–dropping just one set to Tsitsipas in the process. Ruud booked his spot in a first Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Emil Ruusuvuori, Lorenzo Sonego, and Hubert Hurkacz. Only the match against Ruusuvuori was a straight-setter, but the eighth-ranked Norwegian has consistently raised his level when it has mattered most. That will once again be the key against Rune, who may be the more naturally talented player with superior firepower but would likely be in trouble physically if it turns into a prolonged affair. As long as Ruud doesn’t get blown off the court quickly, he should have the edge late.
Pick: Ruud in 5
(7) Andrey Rublev vs. (20) Marin Cilic
Cilic was already turning back the clock even before he arrived in Paris, but nothing forecasted this kind of level. The 33-year-old Croat is back in a major quarterfinal for the first time since the 2018 U.S. Open thanks to victories over Attila Balazs, Marton Fucsovics, Gilles Simon, and Daniil Medvedev. Only Fucsovics has managed to take a set, and Cilic was especially impressive during a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 rout of Medvedev on Monday night. The world No. 23 will break back into the top 20 next week regardless of what happens the rest of the way.
Up next for Cilic on Wednesday afternoon is a seventh encounter with Rublev. The head-to-head series stands at 4-2 in favor of the 24-year-old and they have squared off only once on clay (Cilic prevailed 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-1 at the 2015 Geneva event). They most recently collided earlier this season at the Australian Open, where Rublev went down 7-5, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-3. The world No. 7 gets another shot in this matchup following wins this fortnight over Soonwoo Kwon, Federico Delbonis, Cristian Garin, and Jannik Sinner (via retirement). Rublev was certainly fortunate against Sinner, who dominated their opening set 6-1 before being undone by a knee injury. Whereas Cilic is on an absolute roll, Rublev has been far from dominant this fortnight. If the 20th seed plays anywhere close to the way he did against Medvedev, his offense will be too much for Rublev–just as it was in Melbourne.
Pick: Cilic in 4
WWW?
I’ll take Rune in 4 and Rublev in 3….but mostly I’ll say….Vamos Rafa!!!!
Rublev in 3????????
My thoughts exactly. I mean anything can happen but if not for Sinner’s bum knee Rublev would be out! The way I saw Cilic play in previous match it was reminiscent of his play at the US Open when he won his sole GS. I think Cilic really likes his chances here given how the draw has opened up so I am happy to give him the slight edge in this one. Otherwise I’m hoping for some great tennis and especially looking forward to Rune vs Rudd, lol!!! I am giving Rune my support here bcos he really impressed me with his take down of Tsistipas 😃! Vamos!!!!!
As for the worm, go Iga!!
If Cilic can maintain the form he showed against Medvedev, he can beat anyone. I doubt he will, but I also think he’ll have enough to take out Rublev. Cilic in 4.
Well this is not the same Cilic who took out Med is it? Quite irritating.
I don’t like Cilic at all but I don’t think Rublev deserves to be in the RG semi final. Am not exactly crazy about him either.
Rublev is a nice guy Amy. He has one dimensional game but he is a sweet guy n don’t forget he is a huge rafan 🙂
You are probably right sanju! Sorry am very tired today so quick to criticise…
Don’t forget he wrote no war please way back in Feb at Dubai. It’s not easy for a Russian to write that publicly
Yes that’s true!
Anyway, I hope Rudd gets to the final. He’s a really nice guy and another huge Rafa fan.
Come on Casper!
These night matches are ridiculous!
Hey Amy!! I am kinda happy for Cilic, it was a hard fought match going all the way even to a TB! Still don’t understand how the women get same prize money as the men, smh!!! Ridiculous!!!
Anyway, I like Rudd but I also really like Rune! The way he took it to Tsistipas was just awesome! If he and Rafa make the final though I would not be supporting him for sure but he won me over, lol! Hope he is able to produce some of that same magic today. May the best man win!
I haven’t seen much of Rune Mona! But he is definitely one for the future. With Felix,Alcaraz and Rune there is a lot of young talent now!
Looks like Casper is about to take the first set!
So it’s Rudd who’s the last to come through to reach the SF, congrats to him, and also to Cilic.
All four QFs are so competitive, making them interesting for us watching the matches. Rudd seems a nice guy, talks sensibly. Cilic vs Rudd SF, hard to predict who will win that match.
Yeah, Rudd was more composed and disciplined of the two. Rune is a great talent but he needs to tame his shots especially in critical moments. I suppose that will come with time as he’s only 19. He should be proud of his performance here, was just two sets away from a semifinal in a slam, something many tennis players can only dream of.
As for Rudd and Cilic, it might be close. Cilic has his serves to rely on, served 33 today alone while some never even serve that many in their entire career, lol!!! Rudd has some great groundies and may exploit Cilic’s movement….will see. Hoping for a great match.
Its good to see Cilic doing so well on clay, and playing again like in in 2014 and 2017-8 whe he reached Slam finals. Ruud is a boring player by comparison , some call him a flat track bully but its his surface-interesting who comes through , head says Ruud, heart Cilic.