« Alcaraz has absolute freedom in his game » – Diepresse.com
Marin Cilic, US Open Champion 2014, wants to make it back to the top of the world at the age of 36. A conversation about the hard reality outside the top 100, the pleasure factor in matches against the « Big 3 » – and the parallels between Roger Federer and Carlos Alcaraz.
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Marin Cilic has been touring the world as a tennis professional since 2005. A few days ago, the Croatian opened at the tournament in Mauthausen in Upper Austrian. Afp/pictures
Mr. Cilic, you were one of the top players at the this week Challenger tournament in Mauthausen, but lost at the start. Do you annoy defeats, even on a smaller stage, just like ten years ago-or will you be more relaxed as a Grand Slam champion in the advanced tennis age because priorities and views shift?
Marin Cilic: There is a question that stands every day above everyone else: Do you develop as a player in the right direction? If I gave everything physically and mentally in a match and I develop in the right direction, then I’m okay with it, even if defeats always hurt. But at some point it was easier for me to accept them. As a young player, I took defeats more personally, was more emotional. In recent years I have managed to look at things more objectively.
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Marin Cilic honored Upper Austria. GEPA picture / Christian Moser
They know the absolute heights of this sport, were number three in the world and won the US Open in front of 23,000 fans in New York in 2014. How does it feel to play on these little stages in front of a fraction of spectators? Do you not bother any motivation problems?
