Hong Kong Tennis Open: Marin Cilic lets victory slip but is grateful to be back
- ‘Compared with my physical level where I was four months ago, it’s night and day,’ the former world No 3 says
- Australian Open is the next challenge for the Croat, who was unable to convert five match points at Victoria Park
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Marin Cilic was keen to seize the positives despite letting the initiative slip in a gruelling match with Jan-Lennard Struff at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open on Tuesday.
The Croat squandered five match points in the second set of a hard-fought first-round encounter that lasted over three hours on Centre Court at Victoria Park.
He went on to lose the set in a tiebreak, and the third went back and forth before ending the same way as German world No 25 Struff progressed 3-6, 7-6, 7-6.
But after his first action since July, former US Open champion Cilic was “extremely happy” to even be on court, let alone in contention.
“I only had two singles match last year, and compared with my physical level where I was four months ago, it’s night and day,” he said. “I was so close to the victory, but those things happen.
“It’s difficult to judge the complete match just based on that, but I am very pleased – and of course a little bit of a sour feeling in the end.”
Once perched as high as world No 3, Cilic’s ranking fell to No 674 following a knee injury exactly a year ago in Pune, India. But he intends to play on.
“I love this game, I love tennis and enjoy it,” the 35-year-old said. “I feel that I’m very competitive, my level is really good.
“I’m definitely very eager to continue to give myself a chance to play a couple more seasons if that’s going to be possible, and to compete with the best.”
Cilic will next subject his body to a sterner test, at the Australian Open. A protected ranking will ensure his entry to the main draw, but he knows there are no further guarantees in such elite company.
“I’ve been in a difficult period in 2023 with my injuries and my knee, and it’s difficult to know how it’s going to react,” he said. “So if I put some bigger expectations on myself, who knows what’s going to happen.
“I’ll just take it step by step and try to use every opportunity the best I can.”
Next for Struff on Thursday will be Sebastian Ofner, who overpowered Mackenzie McDonald of the United States 6-1, 6-2.
From a game down, Ofner reeled off six straight games to storm to a one-set lead, then controlled the second. The Austrian snapped a five-match losing streak against an opponent ranked two places above him at No 41, but was realistic about the opponents – and the season – ahead.
“I have the feeling I can compete with everybody,” Ofner said. “If at the end of this year, I’m ranked 50, 60, plus or minus, that would be great already.
“There are many good players here, it’s a very strong [ATP] 250 tournament. You could play against [Andrey] Rublev, [Karen] Khachanov or [Frances] Tiafoe. If you play against those guys, it’s very difficult.”
