Cilic makes ATP Tour history with Hangzhou Open win

Marin Cilic defeated Zhang Zhizhen 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) to claim the Hangzhou Open title on Tuesday, becoming the lowest-ranked winner in the history of the ATP Tour.

Ranked No.777 in the world pre-tournament, the Croatian headed to China as a +3300 underdog in the outright betting at top tennis bookmakers.

Two knee surgeries have restricted Cilic to just six ATP events since 2022, and the former world No.3 had not won a match on tour since January 2023.

“It’s been a difficult period for me in the last 20 months,” he said in his victory speech.

“I lost my ranking, didn’t play too much.

“A big, big thank you to the organising team for giving me this opportunity and believing in me.

“I hope I made it worthwhile during the whole week.”

En route to his 21st career title, the 2014 US Open champion beat Zachary Svajda, Yoshihito Nishioka, Yasutaka Uchiyama and Brandon Nakashima before facing Zhang in the final.

“Big thank you to my team here, everybody at home, my family, my boys, my wife, everyone who was with me in this difficult period,” Cilic added.

“Working day by day, believing, pushing me, giving me big strength.

“So happy and proud to make this victory not only for me but for them as well.”

Shang makes history in Chengdu

Parallel to the events in Hangzhou, history was also made at the Chengdu Open, with 19-year-old Shang Juncheng becoming the first player born in 2005 to win an ATP title.

The big-hitting Chinese player raced past top seed Lorenzo Musetti in the final, winning 7-6 (4), 6-1, having beaten veterans Kei Nishikori, Roman Safiullin, Alexander Bublik and Yannick Hanfmann en route to the championship match.

Shang becomes just the second-ever Chinese player to win an ATP Tour title, after Yibing Wu won the Dallas Open in 2023.

The former junior US Open finalist now moves to the cusp of the world’s top 50 and puts himself in the running for a spot at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah this December.

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