Marin Cilic

A steady presence on the ATP Tour circuit since he turned professional in 2005, Marin Cilic has achieved plenty through the course of his career. He might have only won the one Grand Slam but his overall record is decent – he’s won 19 titles through the course of his career and was, in his prime, consistently in and around the top parts of the rankings. Indeed, through the course of his career, he has reached the quarterfinals of all the four major Grand Slam events, as well as the last 8 of all the nine ATP Masters 1000 events too.

Cilic has also represented Croatia on a consistent basis in the Davis Cup, although it’s worth noting he represented Bosnia and Herzegovina – the country he was born in – during his youth. He has also taken part in doubles events over the years, although his main success has come in the singles ranks.

From 2008-18, he made it a point to win at least one title a year. His maiden ATP event win came at New Haven in 2008. In 2009, he won two titles – the Chennai Open and the ATP 250 event at Zagreb, Croatia. He would retain his Chennai crown the following year before doing the same at Zagreb. This meant that, by 2010, he had already won five titles.

He would go on to add 14 more titles to that haul, including the 2014 US Open which till date remains his only win in a Grand Slam final. He even beat Roger Federer en route to the title. Indeed, Cilic holds wins over both other members of the ‘Big Three’ as well – he beat Novak Djokovic in the 2016 Paris Masters and beat then-world number 1 Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open in 2018.

Recent years have seen him struggle both with form. 2018 was his best year in terms of big wins and Grand Slam performances, and he was catapulted to 3rd in the world rankings as a result. However, his form nosedived after that and he fell out of the top 40 at one point.

Nevertheless, he has shown signs of recovering some form in 2021. He won the Stuttgart Open and also clinched a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in the men’s doubles event. Notably, this was the first time since 1908 that one country had won both the gold and silver medal in the men’s doubles event, and only the third time overall.

Cilic’s big frame lends itself to a power-based game. He is aggressive on the baseline and likes to take the attack to his opponents. His height enables him to hit big shots towards either side of the court. However, his biggest strength is his serve. Cilic is not known to go for a safe serve; he goes big, both on his first serve and second serve.

That can be disadvantageous when it doesn’t work out, but when it does it can be devastating. Cilic also worked hard to improve his forehand shots, which became a big strength later in his career. Weirdly enough, his backhand suffered as a result. He’s also prone to go for big shots despite being in awkward positions, which can be his undoing sometimes.

Australian Open – runner up in 2018
French Open – quarterfinalist in 2017 and 2018
Wimbledon – finalist in 2017
US Open – winner in 2014