Courtesy: X
On Tuesday, September 24, Marin Cilic, the former US Open champion from Croatia, became the lowest-ranked player in history to win an ATP World Tour title in Hangzhou, China. After starting the Hangzhou Open as the world number 777 on the ATP Rankings, Marin Cilic won five matches in a row, including the final in straight sets against home favourite Zhang Zhizhen 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5), to clinch his first title on the world tour since St. Petersburg Open in Russia, 2021.
In the last couple of seasons on the ATP World Tour, Marin Cilic has played in a handful of tennis tournaments due to a knee injury, which required a couple of surgeries to fix. With that, the former world number three-ranked player received a wild card to take part in the Hangzhou Open after not winning a single match on the world tour for more than 22 months in total.
Marin Cilic also won his first match on ATP World Tour in nearly two years in China
But, in the last seven days in China, Marin Cilic, who will be celebrating his 36th birthday in four day’s time, went on to win five straight matches, including four against the two American and Japanese opponents respectively, to reach the final of the Hangzhou Open. In the summit clash, which had tiebreakers in both the sets, the former Grand Slam winner held his nerve, to get the better of the Chinese opponent, securing the title win at the Hangzhou Open in front of thousands of fans at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Expo Center.
Before Marin Cilic, the lowest-ranked tennis player to win an ATP World Tour title was Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, who won the Adelaide Open way back in 1998 with 550 world ranking before the start of the tournament. Some of the other players in the top five list, to win a title on the world tour with lower ranking are Pablo Andujar, Fernando Gonzalez, and Tommy Haas.
It has been a difficult period for me - I lost my ranking and I didn't play too much: Marin Cilic
During the post-match chat at the Hangzhou Open, Marin Cilic spoke about the hard times in his tennis career in the last couple of years, and said, “It has been a difficult period for me - I lost my ranking and I didn't play too much.” He also thanked his family for their constant support, and remarked, “Everybody at home has been with me in this difficult period, working day by day, believing and pushing me, giving me strength and spirit. I'm happy to make this victory, not just for me, but for them. For everyone there is a small piece of this trophy.”
