Draper downed as Cilic is back to doing Cilic things

After multiple knee surgeries and the Challenger circuit, 36-year-old shows his level and desire for elite-level tennis are intact

Mumbai: Marin Cilic’s resurgence has blossomed at the heart of Grand Slam tennis in southwest London. The root of his adversities began at a low-key ATP tournament in western India two years ago.

Between then and now, the 36-year-old former world No.3 and 2014 US Open champion has been through multiple knee surgeries, a fall to outside 1000 in the world rankings, and a humble buckle down at the Challenger level.

And so, when this understated Croatian, who’s won 21 ATP titles and made the Slam semi-finals six times, terms a second-round victory at Wimbledon one of the best of his two-decade long career, you’ve got to agree with him. Not just because he sent the fourth seed and home favourite Jack Draper packing 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 in his first Wimbledon since 2021; not also because Cilic was back to doing Cilic things at Slams, with that steely fist bump and gritty eyes; but also given how his body and mind have unravelled at various points of this troubled phase that threatened to diminish what more this career could have been.

“Considering everything that happened in the last 2-3 years... lots of rehab, lots of unknowns,” Cilic said of the significance of his victory over Draper. “(But) All the time, there was this spark of desire and feeling that my level is still there.”

The level was certainly there when Cilic landed in India in January 2023 as the top seed for the ATP 250 in Pune. Ranked 17th then, he withdrew before his quarter-final.

He had a torn lateral meniscus, which made him skip the Australian Open and go under the knife. He returned for an ATP 250 event in Umag, Croatia, but between July 2023 and February 2024, Cilic would compete in just five tournaments, without winning a single match. The pain in his knee lingering, his ranking had plummeted to below 1000.

Competing in Grand Slams, where he would be a rare consistent presence to challenge the might of Big Three in its prime, was nowhere in the plans of a three-time finalist.

“I watched from the TV when I could in the years I did not play,” Cilic told ATPTour.com about being away from Wimbledon.

Cilic self-researched all possible options to heal the knee, and a decision had to be made. In May 2024, he underwent another surgery. Months went into rehab again, kickstarting another demanding comeback trail.

The pain easing up had merited another return to tennis. Except now, the top tier tour had no place for him.

In August last year, as a player ranked 1082 in the world, Cilic made a comeback at a Challenger event in Manacor, Spain. A once top-10 face dialling down to among the thousands grinding in the sport’s lower-rung level doesn’t happen too often. The likes of Andre Agassi and Andy Murray had done it. Cilic didn’t mind following that path.

“You have to accept that I’m not top 100, top 50 anymore, so you can’t just pick and choose any tournament you want to play. It’s time to put the head down, work, get back to Challengers and grind it out,” Cilic had told ATP. “That was for me the first step and then afterwards, it’s putting the mindset in, still having motivation to battle it out with young guns, to compete and play well.”

A month later, Cilic won an ATP 250 event in Hangzhou, making him the lowest-ranked player (777) to win an ATP tour title. In March this year, he lifted a Challenger title in Girona. It was the 35-year-old’s first trophy at the Challenger level since 2007. The gap between the two Challenger level titles was the longest in Challenger tour history, surpassing Murray’s record.

Cilic was almost back in the top 100, but that didn’t stop him from turning up for more Challengers. At the French Open, where he made the semi-final in 2022, he played the qualifying rounds before losing his first main draw match. For his switch to grass, he chose to play some more Challengers, and won the Nottingham event coming into Wimbledon.

Nothing substitutes match practice, at any level, Cilic said. Not many can “completely bully” the world No.4 and “take the racquet out of my hand”, Draper said.

At Wimbledon, Cilic was back to doing Cilic things. After a long time.

“It’s been a long journey but I never lost any doubt,” he said.