Interview with Marin Cilic: "The prize money should be distributed much more fairly"
Marin Cilic fulfilled his dream of Grand Slam triumph in 2014 by winning the US Open. In an exclusive interview with tennisnet, the Croatian talks about the feeling after this victory, the current constellation on the ATP tour and the distribution of prize money in tennis.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Feb 09, 2022, 07:46 pm
Mr. Cilic, at the beginning of the season in Adelaide you reached the semi-finals twice and the round of 16 at the Australian Open. How do you rate your start to the season?
Very positive. I've had a lot of matches, some of them - especially at the Australian Open - were also very good. Beating Andrey Rublev in the third round and playing well against Felix Auger-Aliassime shows me that I'm very close to the level of the top ten and can beat them on some days. That's a great sign. I carried the good form from autumn last year into the new season. Now it will be about building on that as the season progresses.
You mentioned the third round match against Rublev at the Australian Open. Are these the games that still motivate you at this stage in your career?
I would rather say that I get the motivation from still seeing room for improvement in my game. The restructuring of my team in recent months has given me new energy (note: Cilic parted ways with coach Vedran Martic and his fitness coach Slaven Hrvoj in 2021, he is currently being looked after by Vilim Visak). In the matches against the best players in the world, I can show where I stand. That's the biggest challenge for me. Because they raise their level when I play my best tennis. Of course, that is also very motivating.
There is currently an interesting constellation in men's tennis: Rafael Nadal won the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic is still the world number one. At the same time, younger players like Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas are establishing themselves at the top of the world. Given this situation, how do you see your position?
Basically it's very refreshing. When I came on the tour there were so many incredible players. Then came a small break. Now the younger players are showing how incredibly good they are and how they plan to put that into practice. This is a very exciting situation for all fans and players. Of course, more and more young players are arriving in the upper regions of the world rankings. But the truth is that the older generation is being forced to continue to improve. This is a constant struggle for everyone.
You won the US Open in 2014 after a sensational run. Are the Grand Slams still the biggest incentive for you or are there other goals that you still want to achieve in your career?
I saw at the US Open how much that meant to me. When I look back on it, I just think: Wow, that was incredible. I want that again. So I definitely want to win another Grand Slam title. Who knows if that would help me achieve even more? I'm currently working on that. Not only do I want to constantly improve, I also set myself specific goals. I want to reach the level for a Grand Slam victory. That's why I work every day.
They have reached the final of every Grand Slam tournament except the French Open. Is that still on your to-do list?
I've never even reached the semifinals there. In 2018 I felt during the tournament that my form was at its absolute peak. I've never played so well on clay (note: Cilic lost to Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals). I would not rule out that I can make it into this tournament phase again. But it is clear that the French Open is the most difficult Grand Slam tournament for me given my playing style. Sometimes the conditions are not ideal for me. I don't like it when it's wet and cold and the balls are very slow. So I'm hoping for sunny days this year. Then a great run would certainly be possible.
You had a great run with Croatia in Davis Cup 2018. How has Croatian tennis evolved since that triumph?
Unfortunately not as good as hoped. When I talk to the coaches in this country, they tell me that many children are losing interest in tennis. At the age of ten or eleven we actually have enough children, but after that we can't bind them to the sport. It is difficult to say why this is so. Maybe it's because of the variety of sports. Unfortunately we don't have that many players participating in big tournaments. On the other hand, at this year's Australian Open, there were more Croatian youth players at the start. Petra Marčinko even won the juniors. There's a good generation coming. Still, we're missing a large group of players. Hopefully that's still to come.
Does that also have to do with the fact that very few players can make a living from tennis? How do you rate the financial situation for players outside the top 100?
I don't want to criticize anyone because the ATP in particular is doing a lot in this direction. A good job was done there. But at the end of the day, a large part of the prize money comes from the Grand Slam tournaments. Unless a certain percentage of that money goes to challenger events and players outside of the top 100, there will be no progression in tennis. For me this is disastrous. I've been on the tour since 2006: the prize money has increased and the players are earning more now, but at the end of the day it's still the top 100 who can make a living with that money. It is difficult for players around world number 150 to be able to afford a tennis coach, a fitness coach and a physiotherapist. But you need that to be successful. In this respect I am very socialist. The prize money should be distributed much more fairly to give players better earning opportunities. We, as a tennis community, don't give enough appreciation to players outside of the top 100. That needs to change.
Finally, a more personal question: last year you won in front of your son in Stuttgart, and you now have two sons. How can you imagine the tour life as a father?
It was a funny story in Stuttgart at the time: I was away from my family for a long time because of Corona and after I lost to Roger Federer in the second round of the French Open, I spoke to my wife. She suggested that she could come to Stuttgart with our son - and then I won the tournament. That was an incredible time. Of course you need a lot of energy for children, but they also distract you from tennis. This is important in every job. You need that to not be focused on your work all the time. I can relax like this and just have a good time away from my job. If you find a good balance, it's a great combination.