Marin Cilic recalls undergoing the first surgery of his life. It was January 2023, and the Tour veteran, still comfortably positioned inside the Top 20 of the PIF ATP Rankings, was poised for another competitive season.
Cilic had suffered a torn lateral meniscus just before a quarter-final match at the ATP 250 in Pune. It demanded surgery, marking the beginning of what has been a difficult and "emotional up and down" journey for the 36-year-old.
As the rehab process unfolded, Cilic gave everything to his recovery, pouring countless hours into rebuilding strength and mobility in his knee. Despite his commitment and tireless effort, Cilic was not able to return to the level at which he hoped. His knee was still bothering him.
The Croatian started to do his own research, trying to solve the problem with the same tactical mindset he brings to the court.
“I [was] reading through the whole internet and going through research, reading dozens and dozens, if not hundreds of researchers about knee surgeries, recovery, the methods, what to do, what not to do, how to train, what to train afterwards,” Cilic told ATPTour.com.
The 21-time tour-level titlist laughs as he reflects on his pursuit of answers. But thankfully, that relentless research led him to Dr. Brian Cole, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine expert in Chicago.
“He was really straightforward and gave me an absolutely clear explanation of what his idea would be,” Cilic said. “I knew basically everything through the research, I found out what are the best choices, what would be the best methods for an athlete at my age. Then I went with the idea of the doctor, that was a real lifesaver.”
In May 2024, then ranked outside the Top 1,000, Cilic had played just seven tour-level matches across the past 15 months. He then opted for a second surgery.
“The continued problems with my knee was due to my cartilage on the similar area. Who knows why it happened, maybe due to overuse during the years. But the second part of it was this piece of cartilage that was used so much and decided to deteriorate in that 2022 season a bit more,” Cilic said.
“I decided to go for my second surgery and that was really the best choice and the best decision I’ve made these last few years concerning my knee.”
Finally, there was light at the end of the tunnel. Cilic’s past eight months have featured two standout moments. Just days before his 36th birthday in September, Cilic won the ATP 250 in Hangzhou as World No. 777, becoming the lowest-ranked champion in ATP Tour history (since 1990).
This season, Cilic began his European clay-court swing earlier than he can remember in his career. Starting on red clay in mid-March, while his ATP Tour peers were competing in Miami, the former No. 3 was battling at ATP Challenger Tour events in Murcia and Girona, claiming the title at the latter.
“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,” said Cilic. “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.”
Girona marked Cilic’s first triumph at the Challenger level since 2007, when at age 18 he won on home soil in Rijeka. His nearly 18-year gap between Challenger titles stands as the longest in ATP Challenger Tour history, surpassing Andy Murray’s previous record of 17 years and eight months (2005 Aptos – 2023 Aix-en-Provence).
🏆 Rijeka 2007
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) March 30, 2025
🏆 Girona 2025
At 17 years and 10 months, @cilic_marin now holds the record for longest gap between Challenger Tour titles!#ATPChallenger | @atptour pic.twitter.com/UOcnvyGeHZ
Cilic and Murray, both former US Open champions, have met on some of tennis’ biggest stages — an ATP Masters 1000 final, a major semi-final, a Nitto ATP Finals round-robin clash, and more in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Now, they are among a unique place in the Challenger record books, spanning from their teenage years to triumphant comebacks.
Cilic remembers following Murray’s memorable run in Aix-en-Provence while the Croatian was still sidelined and recovering from surgery. The Scot went on to claim two additional Challenger titles that year during the grass-court swing.
“Obviously Andy, all of us were hoping that he’d come back to the level where he was and to have a farewell that he deserved and wanted,” Cilic said. “That’s great to see and accept the situation as it is, not to feel too proud to not go down to Challengers and work your way back to the level where you want to be.”
Now Cilic is channeling those same qualities. At No. 117 in the PIF ATP Rankings and just 10 victories shy of 600 tour-level match wins, Cilic looks forward to what’s to come.
“I’m really satisfied with my ranking, really satisfied with which direction I’m going,” Cilic said. “Let’s see what the year is going to bring.”
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