Rafael Nadal and Marin Cilic will be squaring off for the seventh time in their careers when they clash in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Date: 23 January 2018
Match time: 7 PM local time (AEDT) / 3 AM EST – New York, Montreal / 8 AM GMT – United Kingdom / 9 AM CET – Spain, France, Germany, Italy. To convert to your local time, use this website.
Rafa on playing Marin:
All the matches are tough, and if you are in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, you can’t expect an easy match. Against Marin will be a tough one, but at the same time, is a beautiful match to play against a great player. We know each other. We played a couple of times already.
And, yeah, I know I need to play well. That’s the real thing. I know I need to play well. That’s what I gonna try. I hope to be ready to make that happen.
Rafa holds an 5-1 lead in his head-to-head series with Cilic, including victories in their past four meetings. Their first meeting came back in Beijing in 2009 which is when Marin recorded his only career victory over Rafa.
| YEAR | EVENT | SURFACE | RND | WINNER | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai China |
Outdoor Hard | SF | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2017 | Acapulco Mexico |
Outdoor Hard | SF | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2015 | Basel Switzerland |
Indoor Hard | QF | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2011 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome Italy |
Outdoor Clay | QF | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2011 | Australian Open Australia |
Outdoor Hard | R16 | Rafael Nadal | |
| 2009 | Beijing China |
Outdoor Hard | SF | Marin Cilic |
GOOD LUCK & VAMOS RAFA!
Chung just beat Sandgren: 6-4, 7[7]-6[5], 6-3. I hope he has enough steam to go all the way.
RAFA ROCKS
Post match Cîlíc said he knew something was wrong with Rafa because Rafa was not moving well. This must have given him a boost of confidence because he said he then decided to give it his all. He won fair and square. That’s it.
RAFA ROCKS
I was concerned right from the start as I didn’t think Rafa was playing anywhere near as well as he had been throughout the tournament. He was no where near as aggressive and delivered so many short balls. I wonder if he sustained the injury in the match against Schwartzman. Either way, I feel the AO is jinxed for Rafa. Roll on the clay court season and RG11!
….gruelling rallies…
So sad to see Rafa having to pull out of the match through injury. I never felt at ease at any time in the match because Rafa never managed to keep Cilic at bay. All credit to Cilic as he stood his ground and held his nerve, but he was never really taken out of his comfort zone. I could see and feel the Rafa’s angst and frustration at not being able to break free.
I just saw part of Rafa’s press conference. He was close to tears, looking and sounding very sad and dejected. From what he said, he felt fatigue in his muscle in the third set and then felt something had happened in his muscle which affected his movement, but he’s unsure of how bad it is. From what I saw in the match it looked like an upper thigh or groin injury. We can put it down to lack of match play and Rafa’s body not being ready, but grilling rallies don’t help. I hope that it’s not serious and that good rest and intense physio will do the trick. The only consolation is that it wasn’t a knee problem.
The time for Rafa to take a serious look at his game style on hard courts is long overdue. Youth is no longer on his side and if he’s to have a real chance of winning another slam on this surface, then he has to move forward and shorten the points. I know that this has been said time and time again by many, but Rafa doesn’t have time on his side, There are also players around now who can outlast him and beat him at his own game.
Roger must be rubbing his hands with sheer glee. I’m hoping and praying for a first time winner of the AO. Please, please, anyone but Roger! C’mon guys. One of you has to step up to the plate and believe!
I couldn’t agree more lorna
lorna,
He is not going to change his schedule because he is too stubborn for that. I mean why is he still want to play monte carlo and barcelona he won those tournaments 10 times.
I think had he held break of service in the second and not being broken back he would have won that match.
I think he should skip playing the australian open. Melbourne is for him what the french open is for federer bad place of luck. Everytime as a fan you think he can win that tournament something bad happens. The second time he withdrew after 2010 against murray. He lost three finals he should have won (2012, 2014 and 2017). Last year final and 2012 he was up a break in the final set and in 2014 he was the heavily favourite against wawrinka but lost due to back injury.
In 2011 he could have written history by winning 4 majors in a row but lost against ferrer due to abdomnal injury, Everytime something happens so frustrating. Its like strange forces dont want to let him win a second time.
I dont think he can win it ever again. The surface is damaging for his health also i think its not meant to be.
Federer is rubbing his hands right know. I do think he is going to widen the gap and he knows how difficult it will be for rafa to catch up with him. He is so lucky that rafa had so many injuries otherwise he would have surpass him a long time ago.
Roger is the favorite, but not a done deal. If Cilic plays the way he did today, not sure if Roger can beat him. Chung is also a legitimate threat.
Cilic has the weakest character out there on the court. He will pull a no show for sure if he faces Roger. His Wimbledon final performance was a complete disgrace.
Please!
Cilic is such a lucky loser.
If Rafa was healthy today, he would have destroyed the guy in straight sets.
The only hope for us is that Hyeon Chung could do the magic again or Federer SUDDENLY feel his back pain agan like what happened in ATP Tour Final against David Goffin.
If there was a tennis god, just please don’t close the race so early. Give Rafa a FUCKING CHANCE !!!
Why do you have to use such foul language? Some people never learn.
Learn from what Margo?
I am surprised that you showed up this after personal attacking me and others. Calling “negative” or even worse.
I had enough of your fake face. I don’t really care from your speaking but i have to say it for the last time , just for you to know that you are a fake Margo.
From all what you have been speaking in recent 2 years when Rafa was suffering and even now.
I am referring to your foul and disgusting language here. You must enjoy being banned.
I have debated several guys on this site and i have to say it’s quite fun. We have some misunderstanding but they are real Rafans. But for this girl Margo i just have to say that she is a fake, definately not a Rafan. I have many friends who are also Rafans, Fedfans even Djokovic fans so i don’t visit this site so often which you guys can see but i think i have witness long enough to tell you guy that Margo is a Fed fan.
She tries to add the word “RAFA ROCKS” at the very end of every comments just to disguise her true face but never have any knowledge of Rafa. She labels everyone’s opinion against her, calling them “negative”, “anti”, tries to play sarcastic at any one posting any so-called positive news about Rafa.
When Rafa was suffering injury, she was the one who wants Rafa to play at every tournaments.
When Rafa was struggling in 2015-2016, she was the one who personal attack of any opinion ” Rafa needs a new coach and a fresh game plan”. But when Rafa came back to glory at 2017, she twisted all her words ” Rafa did a right thing”.
Lmao. Hilarious.