Marin Cilic battled past Zhang Zhizhen 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5) in Huanzhou to claim his first ATP Tour title since 2021.
Cilic was playing in his first tour-level tournament since Buenos Aires last February and entered the Huangzhou tournament at number 777. The Croatian player dropped just two points to become the lowest ranked champion the lowest-ranked champion in the ATP Tour history.
Cilic hit 18 aces and won 42 of 50 first service points against Zhang.
Cilic saved two break points in the first set. Both players went on serve en route to the tie-break. Cilic earned the only mini-break to win the tie-break 7-5.
Zhang fended off two break points in the first game of the second set. Both players held on serve en route to tie-break. Cilic earned an early mini-break on the first game. Zhang pulled back on serve to draw level to 3-3. Cilic sealed the second set 7-5 with a second mini-break on the 11th point.
Zhang was aiming to become just the third Chinese player to win an ATP Tour title. “Thank you to my family, my boys, my wife. Everyone who has been with me in this difficult period. Working with me day by day, pushing me and giving me strength and spirit. I am so happy and proud to make this victory not only for me but for them too. It has been a difficult period for me in the past few months. I lost my ranking and I did not play too much. So a big thank you to the organizing team for giving me the opportunity with the wild card”,said Cilic.
