Wawrinka In Full Flight Over Cilic
Third seed Stan Wawrinka continued his dominance against seventh seed Marin Cilic in their quarter-final on Wednesday at Roland Garros, cruising into the final four with a convincing 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 triumph.
???????? @StanWawrinka l'emporte face à Marin Cilic ! RDV face au n°1 mondial Andy Murray en demi-finale ! #RG17 pic.twitter.com/P6bmIsjvVu
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 7, 2017
Wawrinka improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head with Cilic to 12-2 and has won their past eight matches. The Swiss star has prevailed in all five of their meetings on clay, including a victory at Roland Garros in 2008.
“I didn't expect that score, but I was confident with my game. I knew he was playing good, but I was confident with what I was doing since the beginning of the tournament. I think I know how to play him,” said Wawrinka. “Today was a perfect match for me from the beginning. I was playing the right plays. It's great. I'm really happy to be in the semi-final here.”
Next up for the 2015 champion is top seed Andy Murray, who defeated eighth seed Kei Nishikori. Murray leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head 10-7, including a victory last year in their Roland Garros semi-final.
“Hopefully different results. That's what I expect and hope for. He was playing better than me on that court last year, but it’s a different year,” said Wawrinka. “I think he's struggling a little bit since the beginning of the year, but he's in the semi-final. So a champion like him, when they find a way to win matches, they play better and better. I expect him to play his best tennis, so it can only be a big challenge and hopefully a good match.”
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Wawrinka is through to his third straight Roland Garros semi-final, marking the first time he's achieved this at a Grand Slam. He has also reached three consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals for the first time in his career. At 32 years, 75 days, Wawrinka is the oldest semi-finalist at this event since Jimmy Connors (32 years, 280 days) in 1985.
After a tame start to the clay season that saw him a sport 2-3 record, Wawrinka is on a nine-match win streak on the dirt. He retained his title on home soil in Geneva (d. Zverev), and stormed into the final four at Roland Garros without losing a set. The win over Cilic boosts his record to 25-8 in 2017.
More: Thiem Shocks DjokovicThe Swiss star raced to a 3-0 lead in the opening set and hit three consecutive winners to grab the early advantage. He then fired a forehand return winner to clinch an early break at 1-1 in the second set. Although Cilic managed to level the match at 3-3, the remainder of the contest was one-way traffic. Wawrinka won the next eight games and comfortably closed out the match on his first try, hitting a second-serve ace to end the match in one hour and 40 minutes.
Wawrinka finished the day with 25 winners to 17 unforced errors, while Cilic struggled with 23 winners to 32 unforced errors.
Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com