Croatian professional tennis player, Marin Cilic is one of the greatest players of all time. He fell into the limelight in 2009 beating Andy Murray, then world No. 2 in the fourth round of the US Open, and reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open a few months later.
The Croatian great has reached at least the quarter-finals in all four Grand Slams, winning his first major title at the US Open 2014. He was a runner-up at the Wimbledon Championships in 2017 and the Australian Open in 2018, but had lost to Roger Federer in both cases. Read more interesting facts about this tennis ace.
Biography, Age
He was born on September 28, 1988 in Kristine.Medjugorje, a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His parents, Zdenko and Koviljka Cilic, are Croatian and he has three brothers: Vinko, Goran and Miles. Miles is the youngest of the pack and he also plays professional tennis.
The boys were born into a family that enjoyed sports and thus, were exposed to the arena from a young age. Their father was determined to get his sons into sports, an opportunity he couldn’t get. With two of them there, the man could be classified as happy and content.
Marin had his first introduction to the game at a sports club where his father took him along with his older brother, Vinko when he was around 7 years old. He participated in his first tournament at age 8, when he also won his first trophy. He also had the opportunity to be part of the first group of players who played on their city’s first tennis court, built in 1991. The tennis player, nicknamed Chila by his friends, is right-handed (two-handed backhand) .
As usual, a star always finds a way to shine because his shining ability is innate. This was the case of Marin Cilic, he showed that he was made for the sport and that he would play a dominant role in it. He was spotted by coaches in his hometown as he displayed his skills at the age of 14 and encouraged them to move to the Croatian capital, Zagreb, where better chances awaited him and where he could be formed.
In Zagreb, he met an iconic player he idolized Goran Ivanišević (now a tennis coach), holds the record as the only person to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon as a wildcard, a feat that he achieved in 2001. It is this meeting that will make him known to the wider world of tennis by playing. In 2004, Marin was recommended to Bob Brett, Goran’s former coach, and had to move to San Remo, Italy to work with him. He was coached by Bob from 2004 to 2013, then by Goran Ivanišević until 2016 when he was chosen by Jonas Björkman.
Marin turned pro in 2005 and is known for his fast serves and powerful groundstrokes. In a short time he showed his form, winning his first ATP singles title in 2008 after winning the first and second professional tournaments (in May) of his career in 2007. He is one of the few players to have reached the quarter-finals of each Grand Slam. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2014 US Open. The victory marks his 300th professional victory.
In 2016, he won his first Masters title after defeating Andy Murray in Cincinnati and his first ATP 500 level title at the Swiss Indoors. Continuing his winning streak, Marin broke into the first top 5, reaching no. 4 in the ATP rankings for the first time in his career in 2017. He finally climbed to world number 1. 3 on January 29, 2018, a position he held for 12 weeks before being overtaken by German player Alexander Zverev.
He started the Marin Clinic Foundation in June 2016 with the goal of helping children access education. It also presents the Marin Cilic Trophy for young tennis players. His career has seen him win 17 ATP singles titles, including one Grand Slam, an ATP Masters 1000 and a record four titles at PBZ Zagreb Indoors.
Marin Cilic’s net worth
Marin is said to have won a total of $23,115,432 in prize money since turning professional. He also benefits from his endorsements with brands such as Fila, Line Head and Li-Ning (with whom he had a five-year contract from 2011 to 2016). His net worth is estimated at $17 million with an annual salary of $4 million.
Marin Cilic’s wife and girlfriend
The top 10 regular has been in a relationship with Kristina Milkovic. The two met in 2008 and have been together ever since. Kristina is a strong supporter of the Croatian player and has been a regular face in most of his matches, including the US Open where he won his first Grand Slam title.
She obtained two master’s degrees from the University of Zagreb in 2014, one in political science and the other in psychology. She now works for a financial institution, one of the largest banks in Croatia, Zagrebačka banka, where she is responsible for recruiting new employees for this institution. La Belle de Marin is also a polyglot; fluent in Croatian, English, Italian and Spanish.
After more than 7 years of existence, the duo decided to forge ties. Their nuptials took place on April 28, 2018 in Cavtat, Dubrovnik, Kristina’s hometown.
the size
The right-handed tennis player is one of the tallest tennis champions in the world with a height of 1.98m (6ft 6in). His weight is 89 kg (69 lbs).