Just a few weeks after finally returning to tennis, Marin Cilic is an ATP champion again after beating native hopeful Zhizhen Zhang at the 2024 Hangzhou Open.
As unlikely as it might seem, there are some connecting dots between Cilic and Zhang. While Cilic is a native of Bosnia but represents Croatia, Zhang actually spends most of his time in Croatia during the year, which he uses as his base during the tennis season.
After an encounter with former Croatian player Ivan Ljubicic, Zhang chose Croatia as his base, alternating between the islands of Vis and Losinj, which are located in the Adriatic Sea close to the sea border with Italy.
Now, they faced each other in the final of the ATP 250 tournament in Hangzhou, and it was the non-Croatian resident player who won the match. Cilic missed a lot of tennis in the past two years with injuries, but he's been back to regular tennis in the past few weeks.
Since coming back, Cilic has proven that age is just a number and that class never goes away, as he was able to get back into the swing of things pretty quickly. His first proper ATP run happened this week in Hangzhou, where he caught some fire.
He's always been an extremely streaky player who occasionally has weeks during which he simply can't be beaten. This was one of those weeks, and it proved true once more. Zhang has progressed over the year to become a stable player, and this run showcased it.
While his consistency was always an issue, he's getting better at it, and this run proved it. Even in this final, Zhang was consistent, but when he needed to find something special, he couldn't do it.
The first set was a very close one, as both players dominated on serve. Cilic hit 12 aces while Zhang added 8, and both won over 80% of points on their first serve.
What was annoying for the Chinese player was that he wasted 2 break points, the only ones either player had in that set. In the tie-break, in the crucial moments, Cilic's experience prevailed, as he won it 7-5.
The second set followed a similar trajectory as the servers dominated once more. This time around, it was Zhang who allowed break points, but he also saved them. Cilic was in the zone and cruising along, likely waiting for another tie-break.
It came once more because neither player was able to get over the hump, and both were just playing super solid tennis on serve. This was a well-contested match, meaning it was a match that was decided by details, and that's what tie-breaks ultimately are.
As in the first set, Cilic once again proved to be the better player in those crucial moments, taking an early mini-break, which set the tone for the rest of the tie-break. Cilic was able to win the tie-break 7-5 again and the match 7-6(5), 7-6(5) to win the inaugural Hangzhou Open.
With the win, Cilic also became the lowest-ranked player ever (777) to win an ATP trophy, rewriting the historic mark of Lleyton Hewitt, who triumphed in Adelaide in 1998 as the World No. 550.