Another Slam champion will play in the ATP in Buenos Aires: he has received an invitation and joins Alcaraz and Wawrinka

While the Australian Open enters the definition phase, there are already many tennis players who are training focused on the South American tour of clay court tournaments. Between them, Marin Cilic, 2014 US Open champion and former world number 3, who will play the Argentine Open for the first time.

After a 2023 that kept him away from the pitch due to a right knee injury (he played only three games and has two defeats without a win in 2024), The 35-year-old Croatian received a special invitation and joins a luxury list that includes two other Grand Slam winners as Carlos Alcaraz (US Open 2022 and Wimbledon 2023) e Stan Wawrinka (Australian Open 2014, Roland Garros 2015 and US Open 2016).

“He is the third guest to compete in the main draw of the twenty-fourth edition, which will take place from February 10 to 18 at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club,” The organization of the competition stated this in a statement released in the last few hours. He wild card de Cilic adds to those already received by the Argentinians Diego Schwartzman and Facundo Díaz Acosta.

The profile of ATP 250 of Buenos Aires He had given clues in his networks as to who would be the next big name to participate in the Buenos Aires tournament, publishing a post with 20 trophy emojis, which correspond to the number of titles that the Balkan player has won in his career, and a medal silver, obtained at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in doubles with Ivan Dodig. Now his name has been revealed.

Among these 20 coronations, in addition to the glory at Flushing Meadows, the one obtained at the Cincinnati Masters 1000 in 2016 after beating the British Andy Murray in the final stands out. He was also the 2018 Davis Cup champion and reached two more Grand Slam finals, falling at Wimbledon 2017 and at the Australian Open 2018 against Roger Federer, which were the Swiss’ last two consecrations in Major.

Of undoubted hierarchy, Cilic is in the process of rediscovering his best tennis after suffering a serious right knee injury that kept him off the court for practically the entire 2023 season. Upon his return, he fell in the first round of the ATP Hong Kong against Jan Lennard Struff and also on his debut at Melbourne Park against Fabian Marozsan. Now, without a ranking, he will look to Buenos Aires to start with the lift.

The Croatian, remembered above all for being one of the protagonists of that Davis Cup final played in Zagreb which consecrated Argentina in 2016, will play for the first time in the country and will join other important players such as the British Cameron Norrie, the Chilean Nicolás Jarry and the local hopes, Francisco Cerúndolo and Tomás Etcheverry.