By Alberto Amalfi | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Photo: Zhe Ji/Getty
Marin Çilık celebrated an early birthday by winning his 21st career title in China.
In a high-quality final, Cilic hit 18 aces to surpass China’s Zhang Zhizhen 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in today’s Hangzhou Open final.
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There was no service interruption in the final.
Former US Open champion Cilic, who celebrates his 36th birthday on Saturday, won his first ATP title since the St Petersburg crown in 2021. Cilic improved to 21-16 in career finals.
“I don’t think I’ve done better in any aspect,” Cilic said. “The first tiebreak was 7-5 and the second was also 7-5. So close.
“We both served extremely well today. Not many rallies today. It can happen like that. Obviously, it’s a fast court, fast tennis. Just a little bit luckier today.”
In the history books 📖@cilic_marin becomes the lowest-ranked ATP Tour winner in history to start #HangzhouOpen ranked no. 777! pic.twitter.com/uHQZKVrJCq
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) September 24, 2024
It’s a historic win for Cilic, who started the week at No. 777, becoming the lowest-ranked ATP champion in history.
The victory vault moves Cilic up to the 373rd place in the live ranking.
