When the draw first came out, many tennis fans including experts expected the Big Four to fill in the final four spots in the tournament. Sure, there were some players who were potential threats, but no one expected the semi-finals to be between Marin Cilic and Sam Querrey. The American saw to that when he ousted the defending champion and the world number one Andy Murray. Although Andy was clearly struggling with the hip injury, that doesn't diminish the significance of Sam's achievement. He is playing the tournament of his career reaching the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time.
While on the other hand, Marin Cilic had a pretty easy job until the quarter-finals where he beat the Nadal's conqueror Gilles Muller.
Cilic battles past Muller to reach his first Wimbledon semi-finals
Although many predicted the clash between Marin Cilic and Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals, it was Gilles Miller who jumped in after his tremendous victory over the Spaniard in the nail-biting five-setter. The 34-year old veteran from Luxembourg was ready to continue right where he left off on the Manic Monday. Right from the beginning of the match, there were no signs of tiredness in the Muller's game.
Both players held their service games until the seventh game of the set when Muller broke Cilic after the Croat missed some simple shots.
The Luxembourgian was able to break Cilic once more for a 6-3 lead. The tie-break of the second set was definitely a turning point for this match.
Muller had the advantage of a mini-break leading 5-3, but Cilic was determined to take the matters into his own hands. And so the Croat won that set 8-6. In the third set, the players were solid on their serves until Cilic broke the Luxemburgian in the eleventh game of the set.
The similar scenario took place in the fourth set, but it was Miller this time who was able to break Cilic and even the match. In the final set, we all expected the ruthless battle to continue. However, Gilles Miller couldn't keep up. Marin Cilic broke him right off the bat, and then again in the fourth game, so the rest of the match was nothing but a routine for the Croat.
Marin Cilic vs Sam Querrey in the semi-finals
They both had fairy tale runs at this year's Wimbledon, but there would have to be only one winner on Friday. Who could this be? Cilic leads 4-0 in the head-to-head meetings, but let us not forget the two epic Wimbledon matches they played, especially one from 2012 when the result was 17-15 in the final set. That match is the second longest match in the Wimbledon's history, so let's just hope we get the similar performance from the players when they hit the court on Friday.
