Live: Cilic vs. Edmund

Marin Cilic is on course to become the first Croatian to reach the Australian Open final, which would represent his third Grand Slam championship title match (also 2014 US Open, 2017 Wimbledon). The sixth seed leads Kyle Edmund of Great Britain, appearing in his first major semi-final, 6-2, 7-6(4) on Rod Laver Arena on Thursday night.

First Set
Cilic came under pressure immediately, falling to 15/40, largely because of two groundstroke errors. But Edmund, who had moved Cilic out from his favoured backhand corner, was unable to capitalise. Cilic grew in confidence to break to 30 in both the sixth and eighth games, courtesy of a backhand error from Edmund and a forehand winner for Cilic, his eighth of the 35-minute set. Edmund soon departed the court for a medical time-out, which lasted eight minutes. Cilic won 12 of his 14 first-serve points, including one ace.

Second Set
Edmund returned with greater focus and in the fifth game, when a line judge had called Cilic’s serve wide, the 23-year-old challenged the Hawk-Eye decision that went his opponent’s way. Edmund believed the point should have been replayed and called for the referee, having claimed his return was affected by the call as he played the stroke. It fired the Briton up and the set was decided on a tie-break, which went with serve through the first six points until Edmund missed a forehand close to the net at 3/3. A focused Cilic, moving and serving well, soon roared with delight as he struck a stunning forehand winner for a two-sets-to-love advantage.