Rafael Nadal: Marin Cilic makes bold admission about world No 1 at French Open
MARIN CILIC says he expects to face Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of the French Open - despite the world No 1 looking far from his best this afternoon.
Nadal was given a scare against Simone Bolelli in a rain-disrupted clash which was spread over two days.
The Spaniard won the match in straight sets but needed a tie break to clinch the third set against a resilient opponent.
Cilic, seeded No 3, also had to battle to get past his first round opponent James Duckworth, but he already has his eyes set on the latter stages of the competition.
The Croatian knows a possible semi-final showdown with Nadal could await - and he expects the pair of them to progress to the last four.
Rafa is always really consistent and getting his rhythm through the couple matches
“Yeah, I mean, it's still very far. If we're going to meet it's going to be in the semis, so still a lot of work to do,” Cilic said.
“Rafa is always really consistent and getting his rhythm through the couple matches.
“He's going to be playing definitely better and better.”
Cilic insists that he will take it one match at a time but he has already checked out his potential path to glory.
“Yeah. I have seen the draw,” he added.
“Obviously, you know, it stays in your mind.
“But, you know, I'm just focused on every single match. You can't get ahead of yourself.
“You don't know who's gonna win, who's gonna lose.
“The Grand Slam is big tournament, a lot of things happening.
“My focus is just to continue to play well and go match by match.”