MARIN CILIC TO PLAY THE RAFA NADAL OPEN BY MOVISTAR

Croatia’s Marin Cilic will be one of the big names to compete in the sixth edition of the Rafa Nadal Open by Movistar, which takes place from 26 August to 1 September at the Rafa Nadal Academy.

Cilic, a former world number 3, boasts an enviable trophy hall thanks to the US Open title he claimed in 2014, 20 ATP Tour titles, a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics and the Davis Cup he won with Croatia.

The biggest moment of his career came in August 2014, when he arrived at the US Open as the fourteenth seed in the context of an era dominated by the ‘Big 4’. Since Juan Martín del Potro won the US Open in 2009, only Stan Wawrinka (2014 Australian Open) had managed to take a Grand Slam from the four best players in the world: Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. The giant from Medjugorje saw off Federer in the semi-finals and went on to beat Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in the title bout.

Besides his US Open triumph, some of the Croatian’s greatest achievements have come in representation of his country. After a painful defeat in the final of the 2018 Davis Cup against Argentina, Cilic picked himself up and helped Croatia claim its second salad bowl just one year later. As if that weren’t enough, in 2021 a brilliant performance in Tokyo earned him Olympic silver.

After over two seasons plagued by injury, Marin Cilic will return to competition on the ATP Challenger Tour, where he previously won two titles in 2007 (Casablanca and Rijeka) and will now try to make it three of a kind 17 years later.

It will not be the first time the Rafa Nadal Open by Movistar has welcomed a US Open champion, after participations from Andy Murray (won at Flushing Meadows in 2014) and Carlos Alcaraz, who played in the Challenger event three years before claiming his first Grand Slam.

The Croat’s presence will undoubtedly be one of the biggest attractions for tennis lovers. Fans will be able to enter the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar free of charge to enjoy this ATP Challenger Tour tournament, which takes place in Manacor in the last week of August. All they will have to do is download their free tickets from the tournament’s official website.