{"id":83804,"date":"2025-05-20T01:35:46","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T05:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=83804"},"modified":"2025-10-28T01:23:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T05:23:36","slug":"marin-cilic-french-open-qualifying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/05\/20\/marin-cilic-french-open-qualifying\/","title":{"rendered":"Former US Open Champion Marin Cilic A Surprising Sight at French Open Qualifying"},"content":{"rendered":"

When fans take in the sights and sounds of the qualifying rounds at the French Open at Roland Garros, they will see at least one well-known player participating: former US Open champion Marin \u010cili\u0107. The 36-year-old Croatian, who peaked at No. 3 in the world rankings, won the 2014 US Open, and reached two more Grand Slam finals, is set to achieve a rare feat when he takes the court against Yibing Wu<\/a>. Cilic is one of only two players\u2014men\u2019s or women\u2019s singles\u2014who have won a Grand Slam and later in their career taken part in Grand Slam qualifying rounds. Both instances occurred at the French Open.<\/p>\n

The other example is 2010 French Open champion (and 2011 finalist) Francesca Schiavone, who had her best career results on clay. In 2018, her final year on tour, Schiavone\u2019s ranking had dropped enough to require her to enter the qualifying rounds. She successfully advanced to the main draw but lost in the first round to Viktoria Kuzmova in straight sets. Schiavone ended her career at age 37 with three consecutive first-round exits in Paris, despite her overall best Slam results being at Roland Garros. Her decline was notable: after reaching the 2011 French Open final, she never again advanced past the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam. This underappreciated grinder had largely faded from the spotlight following her memorable four weeks in Paris in 2010 and 2011.<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n