Nottingham Shock: Marin Cilic Steals a Record That Once Belonged to Andy Murray
Marin Cilic conquered last week’s Challenger Tour event in Nottingham. The Croat denied a match point in the semi-final against the young Spaniard, Martin Landaluce.
The former world no. 3 faced Shintaro Mochizuki in the final and earned a dominant 6-2, 6-3 victory in 70 minutes for his second Challenger title of the season. Alongside lifting the trophy, Marin also wrote history books.
At 36 years and eight months, he became the oldest winner of the grass-court Challenger title, stealing the record from Andy Murray who conquered Nottingham two years ago at 36 years and one month
Cilic added 125 points to his tally and returned to the ATP top-100 for the first time since August 2023. After many injuries and setbacks, Marin looks like a real threat at the upcoming Wimbledon.
The 22-year-old Japanese could not do much against the former Wimbledon finalist. The Croat dropped ten points in nine service games, defending the only break point and mounting the pressure on the other side.
Mochizuku played against six break points and experienced three breaks to finish as the runner-up. Marin found his A-game right from the beginning. He missed a break chance in the fourth game.
However, he kept pushing and painted a forehand crosscourt winner at 3-2 for a break at love and the advantage. The veteran closed the seventh game with an ace and extended the gap.
Shintaro served to stay in the set at 2-5 and faced more issues. Cilic fired a backhand winner for a break and a 6-2 set in 28 minutes. They served well in the first five games of the second set.
