- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Fresh off knocking out Rafael Nadal, Gilles Muller will be looking to go further at Wimbledon when he takes on Marin Cilic. Join The Roar from 10pm (AEST) for live scores.
Muller pulled off an upset in the fourth round, sending Rafael Nadal home in a five-set epic. The Luxembourger sent ripples through the tennis world with his 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13 victory.
Muller kicked off his campaign at the All England Club with a straight sets victory over Marton Fucsovics 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 before being pushed to five sets against Lukas Rosol 7-5, 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 9-7.
The world No.26 then knocked off Aljaz Bedene 7-6, 7-5, 6-4 before his meeting with Nadal.
After a first round beating at Roland Garros, Muller bounced back on grass with a tournament win at ‘s-Hertogenbosch. He beat Andreas Seppi, Aljaz Bedene and Alexander Zverev to move through to the final, before defeating Ivo Karlovic 7-6, 7-6 to claim his second title this year having won the Sydney International in January.
The 34-year-old showed no signs of slowing down at Queen’s, defeating Nikoloz Basilashvili, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Sam Querrey to take his place in the final four before falling to Cilic in three sets.
His lead-in to the tournament could prove to benefit him while it could also be his downfall. His experience on grass, familiarising himself with the service has put him in good stead deep in the second week.
He has, however endured some long matches including a number of five-set matches which may seriously penalise him if his meeting with Cilic is drawn out.
Cilic also competed at both ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Queen’s, earning some strong results. The Croat reached the semifinals at Rosmalen before falling to Ivo Karlovic in three sets 7-6, 5-7, 7-6. It came after victories over both Janko Tipsarevic and Vasek Pospisil respectively.
He earned a major upset early on at Queen’s, knocking out John Isner 7-5, 6-3 before going on to dispose of Stefan Kozlov, Donald Young and Muller. Cilic held on to the first set in the final against Feliciano Lopez, however the Spaniard ultimately triumphed in an impressive comeback.
Unlike Muller, Cilic has been able to close out matches relatively quickly and is yet to drop a set at Wimbledon. Similarly, this may prove to be at his detriment due to the fact that he has not had to fight back from behind yet.
He kicked off his campaign against Philipp Kohlschreiber before knocking off Florian Mayer, Steve Johnson and Roberto Bautista Agut to take his place in the quarter-finals.
It is the fourth consecutive time he has reached the final eight at Wimbledon, however he is yet to get past the stage developing a quarter-finals hoodoo at the All England Club. The 28-year-old will be hoping he can get past that to make his fourth grand slam semifinal appearance and first since his US Open title defence in 2015.
The pair have met twice with Cilic winning on both occasions. Their most recent encounter at Queen’s saw Cilic prevailing in three sets 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. It is their only meeting to date on grass.
The winner will face either Andy Murray or Sam Querrey in the semi-final.
Prediction
It’s hard to separate the pair but Cilic should just pull through in what is bound to be a five-set thriller.
Cilic in five sets.
Join The Roar from 10pm (AEST) for live scores and be sure to drop a comment in the box below if you’re watching the match.
Whether it’s aces or races, try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp for great odds and a great punting experience. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.