Marin Cilic looks to make his second ATP final of the year against Italy’s Fabio Fognini.
Cilic is gradually moving through the gears this week and he took another large step towards becoming the Croatian winner of the Umag title since 1990 with a 6-1, 6-3 quarter-final win over Italy’s Andreas Seppi.
Cilic looked far more settled than he had done in round two against the unpredictable Robin Haase. I knew what to expect from Seppi so it was easier for me to approach this match," he said. "It was more about how I was going to play. I was hitting the ball very well and found a good balance in my game between hitting my own shots and playing defence. Hopefully I can continue that in my next match."
It’s just his second semi-final of the year (he reached the Marseille final in February) and in the way is world number 38 Fabio Fognini, a man enjoying the finest season of his career after reaching the French Open quarter-finals in May.
Fognini should not be underestimated. He took out compatriot and 2010 runner-up Potito Starace 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, a very good win given that Starace had taken care of top seed Juan Ignacio Chela in the previous round.
Fognini has won their only previous match, by the resounding scoreline of 6-2, 6-0 in Monte Carlo two years ago. That was a bit of a blip for Cilic though and expect it to be much closer today.
