Marathon man Marin Cilic ready for a fresh burst in 2023

At an age twice his world ranking of 17, Marin Cilic found Croatia’s 2018 and 2022 football World Cup showing inspiring. “Generally, Croatians are very competitive by nature, you know sporting nature,” he said.

The top-ranked Croatian tennis pro himself is a great advocate of that statement. For over two decades, Cilic has epitomised that competitive spirit—a Grand Slam giant stamping his foot at the 2014 US Open, a 20-time titlist displaying his craft on the ATP Tour since 2005.

He’s still serving bombs and shattering the lines in 2023, evidence being his start to the fresh season. A 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win against Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena at the ATP Tata Open Maharashtra on Wednesday put him in the quarter-finals on his return to Pune after 2018.

Since earning a place in the top 50 in 2008—the year before he won his second ATP title in Chennai beating Somdev Devvarman in the final—Cilic has not been pushed out of it. From 2016 to 2019, he was among the world’s top 10, surging to No 3 in 2018. In the brutal world of modern tennis, that is incredible consistency.

“When you look at my overall career progress, it was fantastic,” Cilic said. “If I was able to back that up with better performances at Masters 1000 tournaments, I’d say my career would be even better. But I’m so happy with my performances at Grand Slams. I managed to play all of them really, really consistently well over the years, and that has been the pillar of my success.”

Cilic is a name no rival would want to see next to his in the draw. Even GOAT-contenders Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and the recently retired Roger Federer. Cilic has beaten all three at least once, the latter two at Slams. The 2014 US Open champion also boasts of eight quarter-final, three semi-final and two final appearances in Majors. In an era of the Big Three stranglehold, that is an impressive CV.

Does he rue his luck or feel fortunate to do battle in the times of these titans?

“I don’t know,” he smiled. “If I was in the era prior, who knows! But it’s difficult to pick.

“I was at home for Christmas, playing some tennis with my nephews on the court of the backyard I grew up in. The first thing I thought was, as a kid it was my dream to play at Wimbledon or enter the top 100. I had no idea what’s there in the open world. So, for me, it’s so many dreams coming true during my career. I can’t say I was not fortunate enough.”

Not that he’s close to stop giving Grand Slam glory more shots. His 2022 Roland Garros semi-final run—he beat the then No 2 Daniil Medvedev and No 7 Andrey Rublev en route—proved that. The big-serving Croatian has always had the game for hard courts and grass, and broke through on clay last year to become just the fifth active male player to reach the last four of all Slams.

Cilic said while he grew up playing on clay courts, he felt a solid connection with the dirt only a few years ago. For him, the key to developing an all-court game has been as much about observing as practicing.

“I found a great feel on how to play and want to play (on clay) maybe five-six years ago. And I enjoyed it. It’s about learning and understanding how to play… watching guys like Rafa, many of the Spanish and South American guys who play great tennis on clay, and soaking up those things,” he said.

“Almost getting to the French Open final gave me great satisfaction that I’m still able to do it and that there are still openings for me.”

It came after a couple of seasons of, as Cilic puts it, “reinventing myself, finding new ways to do things” on the back of patchy 2020 and 2021 that dragged him down to the mid-40s ranking despite winning two titles in 2021. The “positivity” was back in 2022, and so is the belief going into the 2023 season to kick on.

“This later part of my career, I still have that enthusiasm, that motivation to keep going,” he said. “Not to say, ‘a couple more years and I’m fine’. I’m feeling really motivated to do something great.”