Gael Monfils and Marin Cilic, who both headline the singles field at the Adelaide International 1, powered their way into the semi-finals on Friday.
Top seed Monfils overcame sixth-seeded American Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-1 in 69 minutes as the Frenchman continued his bid for an 11th ATP Tour title. He now plays Swede’s Mikael Ymer or Australian wild card Thanasi Kokkinakis, who meet during the night session.
"It was a tough one," said Monfils. "I had a great start and he broke me back. I think I was rushing a little bit on my first serve, and… [I needed] a little bit more timing on my first serve to have free points. Then it was just a battle. felt great."
Third seed Marin Cilic won 25 of 29 first-service points to knock out Laslo Djere 6-3, 6-2 in 68 minutes. "The match was very solid from start to finish," said Cilic. "I served really well. [The] courts here are quite quick... I feel that’s good for my game. For me, these matches are incredibly valuable. [I'm] hoping that I’m going to keep going with wins. Definitely it can grow into my confidence."
The Croatian, runner-up to Roger Federer at the 2018 Australian Open, lifted two trophies in 2021 at Stuttgart and St. Petersburg. Cilic now faces second-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov, who defeated Belarusian qualifier Egor Gerasimov 7-5, 6-3. He has a 2-0 ATP Head2Head lead against Khachanov.
Top seed Monfils overcame sixth-seeded American Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-1 in 69 minutes as the Frenchman continued his bid for an 11th ATP Tour title. He now plays Swede’s Mikael Ymer or Australian wild card Thanasi Kokkinakis, who meet during the night session.
"It was a tough one," said Monfils. "I had a great start and he broke me back. I think I was rushing a little bit on my first serve, and… [I needed] a little bit more timing on my first serve to have free points. Then it was just a battle. felt great."
Third seed Marin Cilic won 25 of 29 first-service points to knock out Laslo Djere 6-3, 6-2 in 68 minutes. "The match was very solid from start to finish," said Cilic. "I served really well. [The] courts here are quite quick... I feel that’s good for my game. For me, these matches are incredibly valuable. [I'm] hoping that I’m going to keep going with wins. Definitely it can grow into my confidence."
The Croatian, runner-up to Roger Federer at the 2018 Australian Open, lifted two trophies in 2021 at Stuttgart and St. Petersburg. Cilic now faces second-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov, who defeated Belarusian qualifier Egor Gerasimov 7-5, 6-3. He has a 2-0 ATP Head2Head lead against Khachanov.