Marin Čilić Becomes Lowest-Ranked Player to Ever Win an ATP Title
The Grand Slam champion took the title at the inaugural edition of the Hangzhou Open.
Marin Čilić of Croatia, 35, defeated Zhang Zhizhen of China, 27, to win the Men’s Singles title at the 2024 Hangzhou Open in Hangzhou, China (an ATP 250 event). The score in the final was 7-6 (7-5 tiebreaker) and 7-6 (7-5 tiebreaker) in favor of Čilić.
This was the first match Čilić and Zhang have ever played against each other on the ATP Tour. Today’s victory was the first title Čilić has won on the 2024 ATP Tour and the 21st title of his career in single’s competition. Notably, this was the first title he has claimed since prevailing at the St. Petersburg Open in October 2021! Moreover, this was the 16th title he has taken from a hard court event and his 17th from a 250-level tournament. And finally, this was the inaugural edition of the event in Hangzhou.
Heading into this tournament, Zhang was ranked as the Number 48 tennis player on the 2024 ATP Tour, while Čilić carried the Number 777 designation. By winning in Hangzhou, Čilić has received 250 points in the overall rankings. Meanwhile, Zhang has picked up 165 points.
Zhang was the event’s sixth seed while Čilić received a wildcard entry into the main draw. Furthermore, Čilić became the second-lowest ranked player to contest an ATP final since the introduction of the current rankings in 1973 - only being surpassed by Raemon Sluiter of the Netherlands (then ranked No. 866) at the 2009 Rosmalen Open. By winning, Čilić is now the lowest ranked player to ever win a title on the ATP Tour during the Open Era.
Čilić arrived in the final after winning against Zachary Svajda of the United States (No. 135), eighth seed Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan (No. 54), qualifier Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan (No. 160), and fourth seed Brandon Nakashima of the United States (No. 39). This was the first ATP final he has reached in 2024 and the 37th in his single’s career.
In the other half of the main draw, Zhang defeated qualifier Denis Yevseyev of Kazakhstan (No. 207), Mattia Bellucci of Italy (No. 108), Roberto Carballés Baena of Spain (No. 55), and wildcard Bu Yunchaokete of China (No. 124). This was the first ATP final he has contested.
The revised rankings for the 2024 ATP Tour will be officially released on Monday, September 30. The tour will then play two tournaments from September 26-October 2: the China Open in Beijing, China (an ATP 500 event) and the Japan Open in Tokyo, Japan (an ATP 500 event). Both competitions will be played on hard courts.
Jannik Sinner of Italy (No. 1) is the reigning champion at the China Open. He is looking to defend the title as the event’s top seed this year. He will face off against Nicolás Jarry of Chile (No. 28) in the first round.
Elsewhere, Ben Shelton of the United States (No. 17) is the reigning champion at the Japan Open. He too is attempting a title defense this year as the event’s eighth seed. He will compete against Reilly Opelka of the United States (No. 306) in the first round. Meanwhile, Čilić has entered the main draw with a protected ranking status. He will battle wildcard Kei Nishikori of Japan (No. 200) in the first round. Zhizhen won’t be competing anywhere this week.