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Marin Cilic: a look at his 2018 Australian Open run in pictures

By Harry Floyd

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 28: Runner-up Marin Cilic of Croatia speaks at the presentation after losing the 2018 Australian Open Men's Singles Final against Roger Federer of Switzerland on day 14 of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 28, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 28: Runner-up Marin Cilic of Croatia speaks at the presentation after losing the 2018 Australian Open Men's Singles Final against Roger Federer of Switzerland on day 14 of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 28, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 23: Marin Cilic of Croatia and Rafael Nadal of Spain embrace after Nadal retired with an injury in their quarter-final match on day nine of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 23, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 23: Marin Cilic of Croatia and Rafael Nadal of Spain embrace after Nadal retired with an injury in their quarter-final match on day nine of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 23, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images) /

Marin Cilic defeats top seed Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open quarterfinals. The two embraced on court after the match.

Marin Cilic was already making a strong run at Melbourne Park, but it was perhaps his meeting with Rafael Nadal that made fans look twice at him.

Knocking out the top seed and world No. 1, Cilic became an immediate contender for the title. Toward the end of the Australian Open, Federer and Cilic were the highest remaining seeded veterans. His five set epic with Nadal ended early in the fifth set.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 23: Rafael Nadal of Spain (L) pulls out in the fifth set due to an injury in his quarter-final match against Marin Cilic of Croatia on day nine of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 23, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 23: Rafael Nadal of Spain (L) pulls out in the fifth set due to an injury in his quarter-final match against Marin Cilic of Croatia on day nine of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 23, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) /

Withdrawing due to injury, Nadal ended the match while down 0-2 in the fifth. Cilic and Nadal embraced afterward on court. Winning the quarterfinals meeting put the Croatian one step closer to another Grand Slam final. He would go on to face British No. 2 Kyle Edmund. Cilic once again found that magic that carried him to the finals at Melbourne Park in his next match. Defeating Edmund in straight sets, he would reach the Australian Open finals to face Federer. His two most difficult and impressive meetings this month were without a doubt against Nadal and Federer. While he displayed brilliance in his other matches, the resilience he showed against the top two players in the world cannot be discounted.

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