Iga Swiatek's unbeaten run hit 33 matches as the top seed at Roland Garros advanced into the semifinals with a straight-set 6-3, 6-2 victory over American Jessica Pegula on Wednesday.

The 2020 French Open champion will next play Daria Kasatkina, as the 20th seed reached her first Grand Slam semifinals after dispatching fellow Russian Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 7-6 (5).

"I kind of felt like the sky's the limit for me, so I feel freer right now, I feel like I've proven myself," said Swiatek after the win over Pegula.

The Polish girl has the chance to equal Venus Williams' record for the longest unbeaten run for a women's player in the 21st century if she wins a second Roland Garros title this week.

During this dazzling run since February, Swiatek has won her past five tournaments including four WTA1000 tournaments.

"A lot has changed in my mind and for sure I also realize that I can actually be No. 1 and really cope with it properly. So that's pretty cool," added Swiatek, who celebrated her 21st birthday on Tuesday.

Swiatek was tested in both sets against the 11th-seeded Pegula, whom she has beaten in the Miami Open semifinals in March. The pair traded service breaks to start the opener, and the American saved three match points in the second before succumbing to defeat.

Swiatek leads a 3-1 head-to-head meeting against her semifinal opponent Kasatkina, while all three of the wins came on the hard court last winter.

The other semifinal will see American teenager and 18th seed Coco Gauff take on unseeded Italian player Martina Trevisan.

On the men's side, Marin Cilic survived a five-set thriller against seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev to reach his first semifinals at the clay-court major.

The Croatian veteran became the fifth active player, after the "big four", to make semifinal appearances of all four Grand Slams.

"I can't say anything more. It was really, really close at the end, the fifth set. He had a breakpoint at five-All, hit an ace, and I had a match point there. Really long point," said the No. 20 seed, who fired 33 Aces, including 17 in the deciding set, to wrap up the victory 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2) in four hours and 10 minutes.

Although Cilic saw a match point opportunity slip away when Rublev was serving at 4-5, 30-40 in the fifth set, the 2014 U.S. Open champion regained his composure to claim the final-set tie-break 10-2 in spectacular style as he stepped into court to strike a series of searing winners.

"I would say high quality from both of us. Andrey played also at a great level. I think, like, he's one of the most consistent guys on the tour, you know, hitting big and serving big. I had to play my big game. Luckily I was serving fantastic today," the 33-year-old added.

Cilic was the runner-up, losing to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2017 and the Australian Open in 2018 as the latter had been his most recent trip to a Grand Slam semifinals.

Next for Cilic will be a Grand Slam semifinal rookie - No. 8 seed Casper Ruud of Norway. The 23-year-old halted the shocking run of Denmark's unseeded player Holger Rune in the last night session of this year's French Open, beating the 19-year-old 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 in three hours and 15 minutes.

"A big day for Norwegian tennis, because we have also a female player - Ulrikke Eikeri - who made the final of mixed doubles today. She is even one step further than me. She will play for probably the biggest title of her life tomorrow so I wish her luck," Ruud said in his post-match interview.

Spaniard Rafael Nadal, the 13th-time French Open winner, will encounter Germany's No.3 seed Alexander Zverev in the other men's semifinal.

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