Croat 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 such a rank already enters the name of the victor in the history of world tennis, with which we congratulate Cilic.
Say that tournament bracket for him it turned out extremely well, it would be unfair. In the semi-finals, the Croat fell victim to whom most experts predicted victory in the tournament. Moreover, the Swiss lost without 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 are reminding that this giant (almost two meters) is still in early years promised to be a superstar. He was the first in the world ranking of juniors, in his age category he won Roland Garros in 2005. He is only 25 years old, and he managed to light up in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, and this season he reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon.
Critics of Cilic, in turn, emphasize that the high growth prevents the Croat 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 the time when another famous tennis player Goran Ivanisevic became his coach, Cilic's game has changed significantly.
Ivanisevic also won only one Grand Slam title in his career, at Wimbledon, and by the end of his career, he was about the same height as his ward, and the shortcomings in the game were the same. But, as a coach, he managed to significantly correct these shortcomings in Cilic, and as a result, Marin began to show tennis on 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, there was a message that a Croatian was suspended for nine months for using doping - nikethamide. The Croatian did not agree with this verdict, citing convincing arguments that he bought the medicine prescribed for him at a pharmacy. As a result, the suspension was reduced to four months. But the forced downtime affected Marina's rating. But, fortunately, not on his game after returning to tennis.
So this is only a plus for Cilic for not breaking down, but, on the contrary, he spent the time of this very downtime to add color to his game together with Goran Ivanisevic. It was after the break that he reached the 1/4 finals at Wibledon 2014, and then to the title at the US Open. If Cilic had not missed these four months, there could be no doubt that he would also get to final tournament year with the participation of the 8 best tennis players in the world, but there are problems. While Cilic is out of these competitions, because he is not included in the coveted eight. He needs to play tournaments and win again.
For Russian tennis fans, this is only a plus. The Croatian has been declared for the Kremlin Cup and will become its decoration. In recent years, tennis players from the top 10 did not indulge 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 a real option to break into 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 Mezhdhirya. He started playing tennis at the age of seven, thanks to the efforts of his cousin.
Speaking 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 ranking. And a year later, he rose one more position, becoming the best tennis player in the junior table.
In 2005, Cilic also made his first appearance at the ATP tournament 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 of the world.
2007 was M. Cilic's entry into the main draw of the Grand Slam at the championship in Australia. The same season brought him victory in the Challenger tournament. A year later, Marin Cilic for the first time became the winner of the tournament under the auspices of the ATP, which was held in New Haven. In 2009, the tennis player was among the twenty first rackets of the world. In the same year, he became a Davis Cup semi-finalist, speaking 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 the champion once. The former world No. 3 came into the spotlight in 2009 when he won the fourth round of the US Open. After 10 years, he still remains on the leaderboard. On Open Championship Australia 2019 Marin made it 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 needed sports. When conditions were finally created in the city, he immediately sent his sons to play. Marin, along with the brothers Vinko and Goran, began to actively train.
“I started playing tennis with my older brother Vinko when our father brought 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 by reaching the semi-finals on 10&U. I still have it at my house, probably one of my favorite trophies,” recalls Cilic.
Marin started playing in the youth league in the spring of 2004. He soon made it to the US Open but didn't 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 brought Cilic to second place in the rankings behind Donald Young. On Cilic's recommendation, he moved to Sanremo, Italy to work with coach Bob Brett. Later, Goran himself worked with him. 
Important victories of Marin Cilic
In 2006, Marin entered his first ATP tournament in Zagreb. Soon he was selected to the Davis Cup team. This helped Cilic move on and win two Challenger tournaments in Casablanca and Rijeka. Ahead of him was the first victory in the professional ATP tournament.
In 2008, Cilic reached the semi-finals at the Chennai Open Championships in singles and doubles. In singles, he was defeated by Mikhail Youzhny. Then the Croatian athlete 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 of Wimbledon. On Olympic Games In 2008, the tennis player reached the second round of the men's singles. Seeing the player's potential, Fila signed a contract with him.
Aiming for Grand Slam wins, Marin Cilic once again reached the fourth round of the Australian Open. He also helped his country defeat Chilean rivals in the Davis Cup singles first round match. In a duet with Mario Ancic, he became the champion in doubles. The next fourth round was waiting for the tennis player at the 2009 US Open. There he again met with Murray, but this time he was able to get around him. So Marin got into the quarterfinals for the first time.
US Open 2014
In 2010, Marin Cilic went even further, being in 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 over the following years, but the most important competition was the 2014 US Open.
The year started well in Zagreb, where Cilic won his 10th career title. The winning streak continued at the Rotterdam Open. Then there was the quarter-final in Barcelona and the third round at the French Open. Coming to the game in the US, 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 final. 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 me was the pleasure of tennis and I think I played best match in my life,” Cilic said.
Tournaments 2017/18
The next most successful year for Marina was 2017. Then he 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 nevertheless defeated by Roger Federer.
A year later, the third Grand Slam final took place. At the Australian Open, the tennis player bypassed 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 this moment Marin is in 10th place in the world ranking.
