Marin Cilic's most special title

When it seemed that breaking the Big Three's dominance in Grand Slams without being a clear contender for them was practically impossible, Marin Cilic appeared. Born in Medjugorje, a land of apparitions and miracles. As if written in the Bible, a towering Balkan figure stood at Flushing Meadows firing cannons that broke through the resistances of names like Roger Federer or Kei Nishikori. With dominant tennis, the Croat engraved his name in the tennis history books... and his week at the ATP Hangzhou 2024, against all odds, has served to demonstrate that his status as one of the biggest names of the last two decades is more than deserved.

At 35 years old, those glory days when Cilic soared on the court seemed like a relic of the past. Many of his generational peers have already hung up their rackets (or are about to); young blood is making its way in a circuit increasingly physical, less forgiving to the great veterans. Behind the title in China, the first in over two years, there is a tremendous story of overcoming adversity, a way to show that talent remains intact, that age is just a number, and that Marin, with a career already illustrious and with little to prove, still loves tennis like no other.

TWO SURGERIES IN A YEAR AND A HALF AND THE SHADOW OF RETIREMENT

At 33 years old, Marin Cilic had a fantastic year in 2022. Particularly notable were his performances in the Grand Slams: he reached the semifinals at Roland Garros, the only Major where he had never reached the penultimate round, displaying an absolute exhibition of tennis against Daniil Medvedev; at the US Open, he also showed his quality, even leading by a break in the fifth set against none other than Carlos Alcaraz, the eventual tournament champion. There was still fuel, motivation, hunger, and a clear sense that Marin could still dance with anyone.

All of that crumbled at the beginning of a forgettable 2023. After two matches in the Pune tournament and a failure to appear at the Australian Open, on January 20th, Marin Cilic decided to go under the knife and have surgery on his right knee. A sensitive area, even more so for a player who was turning 34. Given his build, height, and player type, the odds were far from favorable for the Medjugorje native to return soon (and well) to the circuit... and time seemed to confirm this: a cameo appearance in Umag, mid-season, was the last time we saw Cilic on the court before the season reached its end. In between, silence, a lot of family time with his children, charity events with his good friend Luka Modric, and minor knee inconveniences, as he called them.

2024 appeared on the horizon as an opportunity to leave that tumultuous past behind. It cannot be said that Marin did not try: he played in Hong Kong, Australia, a Davis Cup tie at home, and in Buenos Aires. Four events, two surfaces... and a knee that cried for help. Cilic tightened his belt and faced the problem head-on, making a decision that could be definitive: going under the knife again on May 10, 2024.

"My desire to return to playing at the highest level has not diminished; quite the opposite, as it is stronger than ever, and I hope that this additional surgery brings me back to the courts." The caption of a smiling Marin in the operating room left no doubt; everything else, of course, left much more to ponder. Two surgeries on one knee in less than a year and a half? Where have we seen this movie before... and what was its ending? 

Marin Cilic has achieved something as admirable this week as what, for example, Andy Murray did in Antwerp 2019: defeating your own body and even your mind, challenging the laws of what is established, and adding another golden chapter to a career built in the best era of this sport. His title at the Hangzhou tournament, where he saved match points against Uchiyama in the quarterfinal duel, is the epitome of the fighting spirit of a cast of tennis players in which Marin, perhaps due to his aesthetics, rarely received the recognition and applause he deserved.

In 20 years, few people may highlight the ATP 250 in Hangzhou in the Croatian's list of achievements, especially if they did not live through this era. They will talk about how he rose among the skyscrapers of New York, how he reached finals in Australia and London, how he was one of the most competitive rivals of the Big Three... but Cilic's triumph yesterday encapsulates those qualities that do not shine but that any sports fan should appreciate as if they were gold. Welcome back, Marin.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El título más especial de Marin Cilic