Today, in the third round of the Australian Open, Former US Open Champion Marin Cilic faced the no.5 seed Andrey Rublev. It was a battle between a next-gen superstar and a veteran of the game. The player from Croatia triumphed over the Russian after four intense sets of tennis. 

Cilic has been around for a while, along with other greats like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and a few more. The Croatian could have won more Grand Slam if not for the big four. However, after beating the Russian today, Cilic placed himself among those legends of tennis. 

Marin Cilic created history at the Australian Open

After 2 hours and 36 minutes of intense tennis, Marin Cilic finally beat Andrey Rublev in the third round of the Australian Open by 7-5, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3. After reaching the fourth round, Cilic created an impressive record which will definitely make him feel good. 

According to The Tennis Podcast, the Croatian has now become the 20th Open Era player to make the fourth round of a Grand Slam 25 times. He’s also the seventh active player, alongside the great three Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, to achieve this feat. 

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Cilic has always been really consistent on the ATP tour and also performs well in every Grand Slam. He became the World no.3 in 2018, which is his highest ever singles ranking. Apart from winning the US Open title in 2014, he reached the finals of Wimbledon and Australian Open in 2017 and 2018, respectively. 

How far can Cilic go in the Australian Open?

Cilic played in two tournaments in Adelaide before playing in the Australian Open, and he reached the semi-final in both tournaments. So, it’s not a big surprise that he reached the fourth round in the Australian Open. The Croatian was already in good form, but can he sustain it?

Cilic will play the number 9 seed, Felix Auger Aliassime from Canada in the fourth round. Safe to say, it will be another big challenge for the Croatian, as the Canadian is also one of the next-gen superstars. Cilic needs to be aggressive like today, in order to beat the no. 9 seed and hopefully win his second Grand Slam title on 30th January.

Can Cilic win the title in Australia? Let us know in the comments.

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