Croatia’s Marin Cilic, returning from an injury that kept him out of the tennis court for more time, was knocked out in the first round of the ATP Hong Kong by Jan-Lennard Struff after dropping nine match points.

Marin Cilic was eliminated from ATP Hong Kong after missing 9 match points

Former US Open winner Marin Cilic (35 years old) is trying to return after a one-year absence from the circuit. He seriously injured his knee early in 2023 at a tournament in Pune, India.

Cilic participated in the tournament in Hong Kong, where he met the German Jan-Lennard Struff (33 years old, 25th place in the ATP) in the 1/8 finals.

Cilic won the first set with a score of 6-3, and in the second missed five balls that could have closed the match. In this way, Struff managed to win the set on a tie-break and equalize the score.

Everything happened again in the deciding set. Cilic had four match points, canceled by his opponent, who ended up winning. Thus, after a match that lasted 3 hours and 6 minutes, Struff won with a score of 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(7) and qualified for the round of 16, where he will play with Austrian Sebastian Ofner.

Disappointed with the result, Cilic had reason to be happy: his right knee has withstood the long effort since meniscus surgery early last year.

“After coming back from such an injury, I have to say that the feeling during the match was very positive, which really gives me confidence. I’m a bit rusty with certain knee movements, but I think he’ll recover after a few matches,” said Cilic, who has won 20 titles in his career, according to News.ro.