2022 French Open: Marin Cilic knocks out Russia's Daniil Medvedev
Croatia's Marin Cilic has knocked world number two Daniil Medvedev out of the 2022 French Open. The former claimed a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 win over Medvedev after an hour and 45 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Cilic claimed his biggest win (by Ranking) in over four years. The Croatian has reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time since 2018.
Cilic won a total of 85 points and 33 winners in the match. He smashed as many as five aces, while Medvedev whacked four. The former won 43% (32/75) of the receiving points and 71% (5/7) of break points. Cilic clinched 72% (18/25) of net points. Medvedev recorded as many as 28 unforced errors and five double faults.
"One of the best matches of my career from start to finish."@cilic_marin, take a bow 👏#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/UQnJsEglwL
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 30, 2022
Medvedev had his best run at Roland Garros last year, having reached the quarter-finals. He registered victories over Reilly Opelka and Cristian Garin before losing to eventual runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas. Before that edition, Medvedev had not won a game at Roland Garros. The Russian is 7-6 in the clay-court tournament. Medvedev clinched his maiden major title last year at the US Open.
Medvedev entered the match with a 3-0 head-to-head record against Cilic. He defeated Cilic in the Davis Cup Finals (2021), Wimbledon (2021), and Washington (2019). The latter has now claimed his maiden win over Medvedev at Roland Garros.
Cilic will take on Andrey Rublev in the quarter-final. Both players will look to qualify for their first semi-final at Roland Garros. Rublev is yet to reach the penultimate stage at a major. Meanwhile, Cilic is vying to reach the last four for the first time since the 2018 Australian Open. Rublev has a 4-2 lead over Cilic in the head-to-head series.
