Ramos-Vinolas sends Cilic packing

Monte Carlo -  Albert Ramos-Vinolas recorded his second upset at the Monte Carlo Masters as the 15th seed beat fifth seed Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 on Friday.

After dumping out world number one Andy Murray in the third round the day before, the diminutive Spaniard returned to knock-out mode as he tamed Cilic to surge into the first Masters 1000 semi-final of his career.

Cilic led their series 3-1 going in, but the Croatian fell victim to a few dozen forehand errors as his big game never truly gained traction in the battle over two and a half hours on the Monte Carlo clay.

In later quarter-finals at the Roland Garros warm-up event second seed Novak Djokovic faces Belgian David Goffin, while Rafael Nadal continues his bid for a record 10th title at the tournament, playing Argentine Diego Schwartzman.

Results at the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday (x denotes seeding):

Quarter-finals

Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP x15) bt Marin Cilic (CRO x5) 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2