Croatia’s Marin Cilic prevailed in a fifth-set tie-break against Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev to reach his first French Open semi-final.

He will face Casper Ruud in the last four after the Norwegian eighth seed ended Holger Rune’s fairy tale run.

Unseeded Dane Rune, 19, had reached the last eight on his Roland Garros debut but bowed out 6-1 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3.

Ruud meets 2014 US Open champion Cilic, 33, on Friday for a place in the final against 13-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal or world number three Alexander Zverev.

Cilic fired down 33 aces and 88 winners to edge a heavy-hitting contest against Rublev in Paris.

He becomes only the fifth active men’s player to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments.

Cilic joins current world number one Novak Djokovic and former top-ranked players Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray in managing that feat.

“It’s an absolutely fantastic achievement for me, to be mentioned among them – these guys have been on the top of the game so many years,” said Cilic.

Cilic holds his nerve to oust Rublev

A fifth-set tie-break seemed a fitting end to an enthralling four hour and 10 minute battle on Chatrier – and it was Cilic who rose to the occasion.

The world number 23 closed out the match by winning nine successive points from 2-1 behind in the 10-point tie-break to secure his first major semi-final in four years.

Rublev had survived a match point on his own serve when trailing 5-4 in the fifth, before failing to convert a break point in the following game, and his wait for a maiden Grand Slam semi-final goes on.

The 24-year-old had failed to win a single set in each of his four previous Grand Slam quarter-finals, but it was the Russian who struck first in a meeting between two former junior champions – eventually taking his sixth break point of the opening set before coolly serving it out to love.

Cilic offered an immediate response at the start of the second set, clinching his second opportunity to break for 2-0, and then held off Rublev to level the match on his fifth set point.

Able to maintain consistency on serve, Cilic carried that momentum into the third against his increasingly frustrated opponent – a break in the seventh game proving decisive as, two holds of serve later, a defiant shake of the fist welcomed the completion of the turnaround.

But, as the clock passed the three-hour mark, Rublev seized his first break point since the opening set and a timely first serve, on his third set point, confirmed the match would go the distance.

Amid the intensity of the fifth set, Rublev admirably conceded a point as Cilic pleaded with the umpire over a line call – an act of sportsmanship that drew applause from the Croat.

But there were to be no fine margins in the final act, as Cilic romped through the tie-break to complete another hugely impressive victory to back up his fourth-round win over second seed Daniil Medvedev.

“There was a lot of heart and one us had to go down,” Cilic said. “Today was my day but Andrey also played incredibly well – bad luck to him.

“When you play this long there are always going to be ups and downs during the match.”

Rune’s run ends with Ruud awakening

Both Scandinavians involved in the evening session had made history before the match began – Rune as the first Danish man to reach the French Open quarter-finals, Ruud as the first Norwegian man to make any Grand Slam last eight.

Ruud dominated the first set, winning the opening five games before closing it out 6-1 and when he broke Rune’s serve in the fifth game of the second set, it appeared to be one-way traffic.

But the teenager immediately responded with his first service break of the match and then, at 5-4 up, broke Ruud to love to level things up at one set apiece.

The pair could not be separated in the third set until Ruud played a virtually flawless tie-break to regain the advantage, and he claimed the crucial break at 4-3 up in the fourth before serving out the match.

No male player has won more matches (64), reached more finals (eight) or won more titles (seven) on clay than Ruud since the start of the 2020 season but he was pushed to the limit for long spells by Rune.

Rune’s bid to become the first teenage French Open semi-finalist since Nadal in 2005 fell short but he will look back fondly on his Paris debut after upsetting seeds Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov.

“It’s a big day for Norwegian tennis – Ulrikke Eikeri reached the mixed doubles final today so she is even one step further than me,” said Ruud in his on court-interview.

“I will have to bring my ‘A’ game in the semi-final because Marin has played well all week and it is going to be a tough match.”