Croatian Marin Cilic became one of the heroes of the 2014 tennis season when no one expected such feats from him. At the US Open Grand Slam tournament, he not only reached the final, but also won it. Even one victory in tournaments of this rank already inscribes the name of the victor in the history of world tennis, for which we congratulate Cilic.
Say that tournament bracket It turned out extremely well for him; it would be unfair. In the semi-finals, the Croatian, whom most experts predicted to win the tournament, fell victim to. Moreover, the Swiss lost without any options - in three sets. And in the quarterfinals, the same fate befell the Czech Berdych, who was also considered the favorite.
Now those who have been following Cilic for a long time remind that this giant (almost two meters) is still early years promised to become a superstar. He was first in the world junior rankings and won Roland Garros in his age category in 2005. He is only 25 years old, but he managed to shine in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, and this season he reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon.
Cilic's critics, in turn, focus on the fact that his height prevents the Croatian from moving quickly around the court. His trump card is a powerful serve, but that’s all. However, it is worth remembering that all these shortcomings were typical for Marin a year and a half ago, but since another famous former tennis player Goran Ivanisevic became his coach, Cilic’s game has changed significantly.
Ivanisevic also won only one title in Grand Slam tournaments in his career, at Wimbledon and at the end of his career, his height was about the same as his ward, and the shortcomings in his game were the same. But, as a coach, he was able to significantly correct precisely these shortcomings in Cilic, and as a result, Marin began to show tennis at a qualitatively different level.
In the life of Marin Cilic before this triumph, not everything was smooth. Like a bolt from the blue in September 2013, it was announced that the Croatian had been disqualified for nine months for using the doping agent Niketamid. Horvat did not agree with this verdict, giving convincing arguments that he bought the medicine prescribed to him at a pharmacy. As a result, the disqualification was reduced to four months. But the forced downtime affected Marin’s rating. But, fortunately, not on his game after returning to tennis.
So it’s only a plus for Cilic because he didn’t break down, but, on the contrary, spent this downtime to add color to his game together with Goran Ivanisevic. It was after the break that he reached the quarter finals at Wibledon 2014, and then the title at the US Open. If Cilic had not missed these four months, there would have been no doubt that he would get to the final tournament of the year with the participation of the 8 best tennis players in the world, but there are problems. For now, Cilic is left out of these competitions, since he is not included in the coveted eight. He needs to play in tournaments and win again.
For Russian tennis fans, this is only a plus. The Croatian is nominated for the Kremlin Cup and will become its decoration. In recent years, tennis players from the top 10 have not indulged Moscow with their presence. So there will be a chance to see one of the best tennis players in the world in action, and for him there will be a real option to get to the final tournament of the year in London, which will be held in November.
Croatian tennis player Marin Cilic was born in November 1988 in the town of Medjugorje. He started playing tennis at the age of seven, thanks to the efforts of his cousin.
While still in the junior category, Marin Cilic won the Rolland Garros tournament. Thanks to this success, the tennis player managed to become the second racket in the youth rankings. And a year later he rose one more position, becoming best tennis player in the junior report card.
In 2005, Cilic also competed in the ATP tournament for the first time and won the first Challenger. The tennis player showed a brilliant result at Indors, held in Zagreb. There he managed to beat the then 25th racket in the world.
2007 marked the entry of M. Cilic into the main draw of the Grand Slam at the championship in Australia. The same season brought him victory at the Challenger tournament. A year later, Marin Cilic became the first winner of a tournament under the auspices of the ATP, which was held in New Haven. In 2009, the tennis player was among the top twenty rackets in the world. In the same year, he became a Davis Cup semi-finalist, playing as part of the national team.
Croatian tennis player Marin Cilic has won 18 ATP titles. He reached the Grand Slam final twice and became a champion once. The former world number three came into the limelight in 2009 when he won the fourth round of the US Open. 10 years later he is still on the leaderboard. On Open Championship Australia 2019 Marin was able to advance to the fourth round for the seventh time in his career.
First racket among juniors
Marin Cilic was born in Medjugorje in 1988. The village in Bosnia and Herzegovina where his parents lived did not have tennis courts. However, the father of the future champion was convinced that children definitely need sports. When conditions were finally created in the city, he immediately sent his sons to play. Marin, together with his brothers Vinko and Goran, began to actively train.
“I started playing tennis with my older brother Vinko when our father took us to tennis club. Vinko was already too old to start playing tennis at 12, but I was at the right age. The first tournaments started when I was 8 years old. I won my first trophy, reaching the semi-finals at 10&U. I still have it at home, probably one of my favorite trophies,” Cilic recalls.
Marin began playing in the youth league in the spring of 2004. He soon qualified for the US Open, but did not make it past the second round. However, a year later, the tennis player won the French Open in singles, beating Andy Murray in the semi-finals and Antal van der Duim in the final. This moved Cilic to second place in the rankings behind Donald Young. On a recommendation, Cilic moved to San Remo, Italy to work with trainer Bob Brett. Later Goran himself worked with him. 
Important victories of Marin Cilic
In 2006, Marin entered his first ATP tournament in Zagreb. He was soon selected for the Davis Cup team. This helped Cilic move on and win two Challenger tournaments in Casablanca and Rijeka. Ahead of him was his first victory at a professional ATP tournament.
In 2008, Cilic reached the semi-finals at the Chennai Open in singles and doubles. In singles he was defeated by Mikhail Youzhny. The Croatian then reached the fourth round of the Australian Open. Thanks to these results, Marin managed to get into the top 40. He also reached the fourth round at Wimbledon. On Olympic Games 2008, the tennis player reached the second round of men's singles. Seeing the player’s potential, Fila signed a contract with him.
With his sights set on winning Grand Slam titles, Marin Cilic once again reached the fourth round of the Australian Open. He also helped his country defeat their Chilean opponents in their first round Davis Cup singles match. In a duet with Mario Ančić, he became the champion in doubles. Another fourth round awaited the tennis player at the 2009 US Open. There he again met Murray, but this time he was able to get around him. This is how Marin made it to the quarterfinals for the first time.
2014 US Open
In 2010, Marin Cilic went even further, reaching the semi-finals Australian Open. Along the way, he defeated Fabrice Santoro, Juan Martin del Potro and Andy Roddick. He continued to win ATP titles in subsequent years, but his most important competition was the 2014 US Open.
The year started off well in Zagreb, where Cilic won his 10th career title. Winning streak continued at the Rotterdam Open. Then there was the quarterfinals in Barcelona and the third round at the French Open. Coming to the game in the USA, Marin finally gave it his all. He beat Marcos Baghdatis, Ilya Marchenko, Kevin Anderson and Gilles Simon. Then the athlete defeated Tomas Berdych and the third racket of the world Roger Federer. It was a real breakthrough, Marin made it to the finals. As a result, the tennis player beat Kei Nishikori, receiving his first Grand Slam title. He also became the first Croatian to win it since his coach Goran Ivanisevic.
“It’s all the hard work of the last few years, especially last year. My team brought me something special, especially Goran. We work very hard, but the most important thing he brought to me was the enjoyment of tennis, and I think I played best match in my life,” said Cilic.
Tournaments 2017/18
The next most successful year for Marin was 2017. He then reached the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time in his career and thus became one of the few tennis players to reach this stage of every Grand Slam tournament. At Wimbledon, Cilic reached the final, where he was defeated by Roger Federer.
A year later, the third Grand Slam final took place. At the Australian Open, the tennis player beat Rafael Nadal to meet Federer again. He failed to become a champion, but at the subsequent Davis Cup, Cilic helped Croatia reach the final. On at the moment Marin is in 10th place in the world rankings.
