Cilic ends injury jinx with first final since 2022

Former US Open champion Marin Cilic moved through to his first ATP finals in two years on Monday and will face off against Chinese opposition in Hangzhou.

The Croat who defeated Kei NIshikori for the New York title a decade ago, will bid for his first title since winning St Petersburg in October, 2021.

The 35-year-old last played in the Tour in February but had to pause with a knee injury. He eased back onto the Challenger circuit last month, he also missed the second half of the 2023 season due to injury.

Cilic, a wild card entry ranked 777, booked his finals spot with a defeat of  American Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 7-6(6) and will bid for the trophy against China’s “Treble Zed” Zhang Zhizhen, competing in his first final at the Tour level.

The former top-10 regular is the second lowest-ranked finalist in ATP history.

“I needed to be focused on every point. I needed to find a way to find my game and battle against my opponent,” Cilic said.

“It was physical. I was 4/6 behind in the tie-break. I played a great point [at 5/6] and came back. Great spirit, great fight and great tennis.”

The Croat veteran owns at least one tour-level title match over 14 different seasons since 2008.

“It is such a great pleasure to come here. I arrived quite early and have enjoyed the city, the atmosphere,” Cilic said. “It has been an incredible week so far.”

Zhang, ranked 41st, will be bidding for his first title from three finals.