Marin Cilic’s comeback to tennis reached improbable heights in a shockingly short amount of time, as he became the lowest-ranked ATP champion in history at the Hangzhou Open on Tuesday evening. Having been sidelined for almost the entirety of the past two seasons because of knee problems, Cilic went into Hangzhou ranked No. 777 in the world. It was his first ATP-level event since February and his fourth since last July. But from basically out of nowhere, he won it–beating Zhizhen Zhang 7-6(5), 7-6(5). It marks title No. 21 for the 35-year-old Croat, and his first since 2021.
“Thank you to my family, my boys, my wife–everyone who has been with me in this difficult period,” Cilic said at the trophy ceremony. “Working with me day by day, pushing me and giving me strength and spirit. I am so happy and proud to make this victory not only for me but for them, too.
“It has been a difficult period for me in the past few months. I lost my ranking and I didn’t play too much. So a big thank you to the organizing team for giving me the opportunity [with the wild card].
“It was a great week for you,” Cilic told Zhang. “I hope you continue to play great tennis in China, in Beijing and Shanghai.”
The 2014 U.S. Open champion now heads to Tokyo, where he will face Kei Nishikori in a rematch of the final in New York 10 years ago. Zhang will play at the other ATP 500 this week in Beijing, where he awaits Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in round one.
