Prior to this week in Hangzhou, China, Marin Cilic had not won a tour-level match in nearly two years. On Tuesday, just days before his 36th birthday, the Croatian won his fifth match in a row to complete a surprise run to the Hangzhou title, becoming the lowest-ranked champion in ATP Tour history.
Ten years after his 2014 US Open triumph, Cilic entered the event ranked world No. 777, having spent much of the past two years out with a knee injury that required multiple surgeries. On the way to his 21st tour-level singles title—and his first since 2021—Cilic beat eighth seed Yoshihito Nishioka, fourth seed Brandon Nakashima and sixth seed Zhang Zhizhen. He beat China's Zhang, 7-6(5), 7-6(5), on Tuesday for the title, dropping just two sets on the week.
"It has been a difficult period for me in the past few months. I lost my ranking and I didn't play too much," Cilic said after claiming the ATP 250 trophy as a wild card.
"Thank you to my family, my boys, my wife. Everyone who has been with me in this difficult period," he added during 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."
Cilic will rocket more than 500 places up the ATP rankings to world No. 212 with the title. He hit a career-high of No. 3 in 2018, fueled by final appearances at Wimbledon in 2017 and at the 2019 Australian Open.
Cilic won his lone Grand Slam title as the No. 14 seed at the 2014 US Open, beating Roger Federer in the semifinals and Kei Nishikori in the final—both in straight sets. The Croatian backed up that run with a semifinal showing in New York in 2015, and also reached the US Open quarterfinals in 2009, 2012 and 2018.
