Unexpected Semifinal
Even in Grand Slam tournaments you are not immune to the odd surprise. In the upper part of the draw, one could already expect a semifinal between Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev in the men’s competition. In the lower section, one had to assume the encounter between Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
After the two favourites had to pull out early, Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic are now fighting for a place in the final of the French Open. At least the Norwegian’s semi-final appearance is not a big sensation. After all, the 23-year-old has established himself among the world’s best and is ranked eighth in the ATP rankings.
However, it was not necessarily expected that Marin Cilic, who is 33 years old, would make such a big impression again. The Croatian reached the finals at Wimbledon and Melbourne and won the US Open in 2014. If he manages to win on Friday, he will have reached all four finals of Grand Slam tournaments
Cilic has shown in recent days at the Stade Roland Garros that anything is possible for him. That’s why we wouldn’t place a bet on a clear victory for the Norwegian as the first impulse between Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic. We think it could be a long match in which it will take at least four sets to decide the winner.
Casper Ruud – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 8
Position in the seedings: 8
In Paris, Carlos Alcaraz has been the talk of the town in recent days when it comes to pressure being put on established players. Casper Ruud certainly came up short in this consideration, as we know not only since his entry into the semifinals. After all, the Norwegian was already the world number one in the juniors and, especially this year, he has established himself in the men’s singles as well.
Series winner Ruud
This year he reached the final at the Masters in Miami and also made the semifinals in Rome last time. He has also already won the tournaments in Buenos Aires and Geneva this season, both on clay. Especially on the red clay, the 23-year-old has to be fully counted on, at the latest now. After his tournament success in Geneva and the matches in Paris, the Norwegian currently has nine wins in a row to his credit.
And the Norwegian was not dealing with walk-ins at the Stade Roland Garros. You have to beat the retiring Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and the Finn Emil Ruusuvuori if you are ambitious. Against Lorenzo Sonego from Italy and Hubert Hurkacz from Poland, Casper Ruud had to play his full repertoire to win the matches.
The quarter-final against the Danish shooting star Holger Rune was no easy task either. In the end, the Norwegian prevailed in four sets and has thus always dropped at least one set in four of his five matches at the French Open. Therefore, we will definitely check the odds for more than 3.5 sets between Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic.
Marin Cilic – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 23
Position in the seedings: 20
At the age of 33, Marin Cilic is a Croatian tennis legend. Already eight years ago he was number three in the ATP ranking. To date, he has won 20 titles on the ATP Tour. He is actually at home on all surfaces, but his great successes have come mainly on fast courts. He has only won two of his tournaments on clay, namely in Zagreb in 2012 and in Istanbul in 2017.
Surprisingly strong on clay
Thus, the Croat was no more than an outsider at the Stade Roland Garros and looking at the draw, it was almost clear in advance that he would be eliminated in the round of 16 against Daniil Medvedev. However, Marin Cilic had an outstanding day and dispatched the world number two in just 1:47 hours with 6:2, 6:3 and 6:2.
After this match at the latest, the 33-year-old had to be on the cards in Paris. In the quarter-finals, Marin Cilic met another strong Russian, Andrey Rublev, and this duel turned into a real marathon match. After four rounds, both opponents had secured two sets.
The fifth set was also close. At 6:6, the match tie-break had to decide the match and the Croatian not only showed all his class, but also extreme nerves of steel. In the end, he won 10:2 after more than four hours and is now in the semifinals of the French Open for the first time. Before the duel between Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic, however, we dare to predict that the journey will end there for the Croatian.
Casper Ruud – Marin Cilic Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
To date, Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic have only crossed paths twice. In September 2020, they met for the first time at the clay court tournament in Rome. In the round of 16, the Norwegian prevailed in two sets with 6:2 and 7:6. It was a little closer in the last match between the two opponents for the time being.
In August 2021, Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic met in the second round of Toronto. The fast hard court was more convenient for the Croatian, but after just over two hours the Norwegian had prevailed 6:3, 3:6 and 6:3. Cilic is thus still waiting for his first win against Casper Ruud, who is ten years younger than him.
Casper Ruud – Marin Cilic Tip
Whoever reaches the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament certainly has great qualities, because five wins in a row are not given to you at a Major tournament.
There are a few reasons for that. After all, the 23-year-old won the clay court tournament in Geneva before the French Open and has now won nine matches in a row. He has also climbed to eighth place in the world rankings and is now among the elite in men’s tennis. Therefore, we expect to be successful between Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic with a tip on a Norwegian win.
Casper Ruud, however, has dropped at least one set in four of his five matches at the Stade Roland Garros. If we add to that how strong Marin Cilic presented himself in Paris, we can’t imagine that there will be a clear win, neither for one nor for the other. That’s why we’re playing the betting odds on more than 3.5 sets in the semifinal between Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic.
