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Marin Cilic will be up against history and the nicest backhand in tennis when he takes on third seed Stan Wawrinka in the French Open quarter-finals. Join The Roar for live scores from around 11:30pm (AEST).
Cilic has been in some stunning form throughout the French Open, after a build-up that was up and down, to say the least.
For Cilic, the high point was winning a tournament in Istanbul, going over Milos Raonic in the final, but there were more lows than highs, including a first-round exit to Alexander Zverev in Madrid.
In Paris though, the seventh best player in the world has shown none of the jitters that halted his build up. He is yet to drop a set and has barely played under any pressure.
Taking into account the retirement of Kevin Anderson in the fourth round, Cilic has only dropped 29 games across 14 sets, which averages out at just over two per set. That’s an astronomically strong figure, especially when you remember he has played Feliciano Lopez and Anderson.
While his form is good, Wawrinka’s is also strong and the former French Open winner not only has the wood over Cilic in their rivalry, but is the stronger player on clay both technically and statistically.
Even though Wawrinka, like Cilic, is yet to drop a set throughout the tournament, he has played a tie-breaker in each match.
Wawrinka’s build-up to the tournament was also shaky, but he finished it off hitting form in Geneva with a title, and he hasn’t looked back since.
His backhand and groundstroke game has been booming and pinning opponents well behind the baseline more often than not, with an impressive performance over Gael Monfils in the fourth round getting him into the quarters, winning the final set 6-2.
The pair have met previously on 13 occasions with Wawrinka leading the ledger 11-2.
Prediction
Wawrinka should advance, but it should all come down to the fifth set.
Wawrinka in five sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores from around 11:30pm (AEST) or at the completion of Elina Svitolina and Simona Halep on the Suzanne-Lenglen Court and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.