Name: Marin Cilic
DOB: September 28, 1988
Country: Croatia
Residence: Zagreb, Croatia
Height: 6' 6
Plays: Right-handed, two-handed backhand
Turn pro: 2005
Racquet: TBA
Marin Cilic is a Croatian professional tennis player that was born on September 28, 1988. On May 18, 2009, Cilic reached his career high – he was ranked as the No. 13 ATP player. He is currently the 16th best tennis player in the world, most likely in accordance with his performance at the 2009 U.S. Open, where he had reached the quarterfinals despite his eventual loss to Juan Martin del Potro.
At the 2009 Chennai Open, Cilic won not only his first title of the season, but also his second ATP title. In order to achieve this feat, he defeated Somdev Devvarman who was a first-time finalist at the time.
In the same year, he competed at the Australian Open, where he achieved great results. Cilic reached the fourth round by defeating player David Ferrer in straight sets, which proved to be identical to his 2008 record. Unfortunately, he was not able to progress to the next round – Juan Martin del Potro stopped him in his tracks. Thereafter, he played at the PBZ Zagreb Indoors Competition. Cilic successfully made it to the final match, in which he beat fellow countryman Mario Ancic 6-3, 6-4. Cilic had won the title. At the first round of the Davis Cup, Cilic played a significant role in fending off Croatia’s first opponent – Chile. Cilic succeeded in winning the first singles match, and then went on to partner up with Mario Ancic to win the doubles rubber match.
Cilic had an outstanding performance at the French Open, where he reached the third round. He played against eighteenth seed Radek Stepanek and eventually claimed the victory in straight sets. However, he was defeated by third seed Andy Murray in the following match, after two sets (7-5, 7-6(4), 6-1).
In addition, Cilic participated in the Queen’s Club Championships, which is a part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series. He made it to the second round of the competition, but lost to French player Nicolas Mahut. At the Wimbledon, Cilic defeated Alberto Martin to reach the second round. Then, he beat Sam Querrey 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4 in a five-set match. In the third round, he was subject to another five-set match. Over two days, he competed with Tommy Haas, but eventually lost 10-8 in the final set, despite the initial match point.
Cilic was not in the best shape at the beginning of the hard court season. In the first round, he was defeated in back-to-back competitions. Then, he failed to defeat Somdev Devvarman at Washington, and instead, lost in straight sets. In Canada, he was not able to reach the quarterfinals thanks to Mikhail Youzhny, although he had done so before. However, his losing streak took a turn at the 2009 U.S. Open, where he was anointed as the sixteenth seed. He successfully reached the fourth round of the competition after winning matches against Ryan Sweeting, Jesse Levine, and Denis Istomin. In the fourth round, Cilic surprisingly beat second seed Andy Murray 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. Soon after, he was defeated by Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.