The Biggest Underdogs in Roland Garros #1: Marin Cilic

The French Open has a lot of top guns in the name of Rafael Nadal, Alexader Zverev, Dominic Thiem and to an extent even Novak Djokovic. This year’s French Open has some underdogs that have the capability to do better than most people would reasonably expect, and at the same time go under the radar. Marin Cilic is the most prominent example of this, having gone under the radar for every slam final he’s reached.

In fact, in almost every big tournament, the big Croat has largely gone unnoticed. Will it be so in this year’s French Open as well?

He comes to the French Open in good form

While the start to his clay season was not the best, Cilic played some solid tennis in Rome, reaching his first Clay Masters semi-final. His lack of good form pre-Rome could be attributed to his marriage, as Cilic got married a short while before his first match in Istanbul, which he lost.

He also had to withdraw from Madrid because of a minor knee injury. This injury didn’t seem to bother him in his run to the semi-finals in Rome, so it is unlikely a similar issue will show itself during his campaign in Paris.

An easy route to the quarterfinals

Cilic has a relatively easy section, with the only challenge in the fourth round, where he either meets Fabio Fognini or Kyle Edmund. Edmund has had a fantastic 2018 so far. With clay being his best surface, it is certainly possible that he could beat Cilic.

The same could be said about Fognini. The temperamental Italian has had a good clay season this year, and if he keeps himself focused, he could easily beat Cilic as well, given that he has done so in the past. However, Fognini has barely had any time to rest after his semi-final in Geneva, so it is likely that fatigue might cause an early collapse.

Juan Martin Del Potro/Tomas Berdych/ John Isner await in the quarters. Delpo hasn’t had the best clay season and had to retire mid-match in Rome because of a groin injury. However, Delpo has confirmed that he will participate in the French Open.

Berdych and Isner haven’t had the best clay seasons either. However, in the case of Isner, the American giant tends to perform well in the clay slam when the rest of his clay season goes poorly (No really, he does), and he could be dangerous. As for Berdych, the possibility is small, as the Czech player has failed to win a single match in this clay season.

Rafael Nadal waits in the semi-finals, and unless Cilic plays like he did in the 2014 US Open and Nadal has an off day, it’ll be an impossible task for Cilic to clinch the victory.

Novak Djokovic/Dominic Thiem/Alexander Zverev wait in the finals.

Conclusion

At best, Cilic can reach the semi-finals. Anything further will need something only two people know the secret to, and it seems unlikely that Cilic can pull that off.