Stan is warned to be wary of on-song Cilic
STAN WAWRINKA was cautioned not to take Marin Cilic lightly as the 2015 French Open champion manoeuvred himself steadily into a collision course with Andy Murray.
The Swiss continued his impressive form at Roland Garros by knocking out popular home No15 seed Gael Monfils in straight sets, 7-5, 7-6, 6-2, to move a step closer to a potential semi-final with the world No1.
However, in his path is Cilic, who enjoyed an easier-than-expected progression to the last eight when his opponent Kevin Anderson was forced to retire in the second set of their game through injury.
And former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, at Roland Garros yesterday ahead of participating in the veterans’ event, has been impressed by the form of his Croatian compatriot. “Murray versus Wawrinka?” he said. “First there is a guy from Croatia who is playing very well. First Stan needs to beat Cilic. He is confident. Don’t underestimate him.” Wawrinka was certainly being respectful about the potential match-up, despite having beaten him all seven times they have faced each other since 2010.
But Cilic could not hide his excitement at his own form.
“Physically, mentally, I played a lot of great matches in this clay season,” he said. “I won the tournament in Istanbul and just felt that I was playing the best ever, most consistently in these last several weeks.
“I grew up on clay, playing half the year on clay. This year we changed the routine of the training on clay, and that helped me to feel much better.
“Here it has been a huge bonus for me, looking to the rest of the tournament, knowing that mentally and physically I haven’t spent any energy at all.”