Ivanisevic vs Cilic

Who is better?

  • Ivanisevic

    Votes: 35 85.4%
  • Cilic

    Votes: 6 14.6%

  • Total voters
    41

Nordung

New User
Who is better croatian player?

Ivanisevic: 22 titles / 27 finals, 1 slam/3 finals, 1 grand slam cup, 2 masters/5 finals
best ranking 2nd

Overall score against top 10 players (65 players) :
Wins: 208
Losses: 190
W/L : 1,1


Cilic: 18 titles /14 finals, 1 slam / 2 finals, 1 masters
best ranking: 3rd

Overall score against top 10 players (57 players)
Wins: 148
Losses: 175
W/L: 0,8


Goran's Wimbledon 2001 winning streak:
F.Jonnson> C. Moya> A. Roddick> G. Rusedski> Safin > Henman > Rafter

Cilic USO 2014. winning streak:
Baghdatis> Marchenko > K. Anderson > G. Simon > Berdych >Federer > Nishikori

Who's grand slam win is more impressive?

Obviously Goran's stats are superior, both in titles and W/L ratio against top players, but Cilic played/is playing in greatest tennis era in history, and played 3 finals on different slams (USO, WIM, AO), Goran was succesefull only in Wimb (1/3), so does that fact bring them closer in comparison? Who do you think has accomplished more, is more talented and better player?
 

The Blond Blur

G.O.A.T.
main-qimg-31a9f759ec24aed9fe835f04d44e3b4c
 

Sport

G.O.A.T.
The problem with Cilic is that, even though he has had a great career, he is so boring. Ivanisevic, on the other hand, was an exciting player to watch according to tennis fans from the 1990s and early 2000s.
 

Jonesy

Legend
Cilic got lucky at USO14 the player that eliminated Djokovic played the match of his life before the final. No way he would beat two big 3 to win the tournament, even more in a final against Novak. Even Thiem or Tsonga are more slam material than Cilic, but luck is also a factor...
 

mental midget

Hall of Fame
goran for sure HOWEVER fwiw i might have to admit cilic’s uso streak there might have been better all around tennis than i ever saw goran play. dude was like not missing, serving bombs. running everything down...really was just in the zone.
 

dropshotlikeitshot

Professional
Cilic may have played in arguably the greatest era ever, but he was constantly **** on by the top players. His H2H against any other active slam winner is abysmal. On the other hand, Goran has very respectable H2H against the top players of his era. Ivanisevic>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Cilic.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
The problem with Cilic is that, even though he has had a great career, he is so boring. Ivanisevic, on the other hand, was an exciting player to watch according to tennis fans from the 1990s and early 2000s.

Ivanisevic has always been a strong personality with outspoken opinions. Cilic, by contrast, is quite shy and reticent and much more humble.
 

sredna42

Hall of Fame
Goran by a country mile.
He still has great touch too, he was doing heaps of trick shots in the last charity match I watched of him on youtube
 

thrust

Legend
goran for sure HOWEVER fwiw i might have to admit cilic’s uso streak there might have been better all around tennis than i ever saw goran play. dude was like not missing, serving bombs. running everything down...really was just in the zone.
AGREE! Even Federer said he was amazed how well Cilic played in his USO win. Overall though, I thing Goran had the better career.
 
D

Deleted member 22147

Guest
Ivanisevic.

What would Ivanisevic have achieved if it weren't for injuries? I have lost count of how many shoulder operations he had, even in his earlier days.

He also cut his heel on a shell on a beach in 2003 and required surgery on that. When he healed from that, he then got a knee injury.

It's a shame that many of the most entertaining players of the 90s and 2000's had careers completely ruined by injuries. Look at Ivanisevic, Safin, Verkerk, Philippoussis, J. Johansson, Soderling, Kuerten, Norman, Coria and the rest. These players should be credited for what they did achieve in the very little time they had.
 

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
We'll decide this when Cilic steps into a time-machine and tries his hand at 90s era tennis, with no homogenization and inferior strings and rackets, and when Ivanisevic takes a sip from the fountain of youth and joins the 10s decade...
 

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
Ivanisevic.

What would Ivanisevic have achieved if it weren't for injuries? I have lost count of how many shoulder operations he had, even in his earlier days.

He also cut his heel on a shell on a beach in 2003 and required surgery on that. When he healed from that, he then got a knee injury.

It's a shame that many of the most entertaining players of the 90s and 2000's had careers completely ruined by injuries. Look at Ivanisevic, Safin, Verkerk, Philippoussis, J. Johansson, Soderling, Kuerten, Norman, Coria and the rest. These players should be credited for what they did achieve in the very little time they had.
Ivanisevic had a sub-par career - in the age of ultra-quick tennis which was ideal for him - because of non-professionalism, lack of motivation and tanking, those are the main reasons, not so much injuries. He was almost like Safin.
 

Indio

Semi-Pro
Ivanisevic.

What would Ivanisevic have achieved if it weren't for injuries? I have lost count of how many shoulder operations he had, even in his earlier days.

He also cut his heel on a shell on a beach in 2003 and required surgery on that. When he healed from that, he then got a knee injury.
Ivanisevic missed a grand total of one Major between the beginning of 1989 and the end of 1998, so he does not, by any stretch of the imagination, belong on a list of players who underachieved because of injuries. He had no significantly shortened seasons prior to 2001. Whatever he did achieve was the result of his serve, more than anything else, on grass and indoors, so if he did have shoulder surgery during some off season while in his prime, it would have been relatively minor. He achieved all that he could possibly hope to achieve: One Wimbledon and two indoor Masters titles. I'm baffled why some people see this guy as having near-legendary status.
 
D

Deleted member 22147

Guest
Ivanisevic had a sub-par career - in the age of ultra-quick tennis which was ideal for him - because of non-professionalism, lack of motivation and tanking, those are the main reasons, not so much injuries. He was almost like Safin.

Say what you want about Safin but he won 2 slams and 5 Masters Series, plus world number 1 status all while being a head case with questionable lifestyle choices.

He won 0 titles after a virtual career-ending knee injury, though.
 
D

Deleted member 22147

Guest
Ivanisevic missed a grand total of one Major between the beginning of 1989 and the end of 1998, so he does not, by any stretch of the imagination, belong on a list of players who underachieved because of injuries. He had no significantly shortened seasons prior to 2001. Whatever he did achieve was the result of his serve, more than anything else, on grass and indoors, so if he did have shoulder surgery during some off season while in his prime, it would have been relatively minor. He achieved all that he could possibly hope to achieve: One Wimbledon and two indoor Masters titles. I'm baffled why some people see this guy as having near-legendary status.

I'm not sure what your point is. Are you saying that players don't play through injuries? I could name you a tonne of players who were constantly injured and didn't miss that many slams.

You clearly don't like the guy, for whatever reason. Some people with enormous charisma rub off on certain types of people in a bad way...

He also won the Grand Slam Cup, which was also indoor. You say indoor as if it is a lesser event. I laughed at that, considering he played in an era with lots of sensational indoor talent.
 
Cilic is a better tennis player but Ivanisevic had a better serve. Many aces. Personality wise I would say that Ivanisevic was a more interesting personality.
 
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Indio

Semi-Pro
I'm not sure what your point is. Are you saying that players don't play through injuries? I could name you a tonne of players who were constantly injured and didn't miss that many slams.
OK. Which major might he have won had he not been "injured"? Which seasons were subpar because of injuries? Shoulder injuries you say? That would affect his serve, wouldn't it? Were there any seasons during which his ace count was significantly down? It's easy to say that injuries affected his career, but if you can't back it up with anything substantial, it's more or less a worthless claim. Look at Roger Federer's career. We know, for example, that part of his 2008 was disappointing because of mono. We know that his 2013 was bad because of back problems. We know that 2016 was affected by knee problems. So what about Ivanisevic?

You clearly don't like the guy, for whatever reason. Some people with enormous charisma rub off on certain types of people in a bad way...
[/QUOTE]
You're correct--I don't particularly like the guy, and it has nothing to do with his "enormous charisma". I don't remember the year or the event, but he once said about a lineswoman, "She is ugly...". I don't recall the rest of the utterance, but the first three words have stayed with me and they say a lot about his character.

He also won the Grand Slam Cup, which was also indoor. You say indoor as if it is a lesser event. I laughed at that, considering he played in an era with lots of sensational indoor talent.
[/QUOTE]

I wasn't trying to be amusing. I don't actually regard indoor events as being lesser. The current year-end ATP championship, for example, I consider to be very important, probably more so than most TT members do. I was trying to make the point that Ivanisevic was capable of winning important titles only on surfaces that favored his serve. Had he possessed only an average serve, he would likely have been a little-known journeyman at best. And even with that great serve, he was able to reach the SFs in a major other than Wimbledon just once.
 

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
Say what you want about Safin but he won 2 slams and 5 Masters Series, plus world number 1 status all while being a head case with questionable lifestyle choices.

He won 0 titles after a virtual career-ending knee injury, though.
Are you a Safin apologist?

Because if you are... don't be.

Both men were rather childish. For Safin, casinos and getting drunk before a SLAM FINALE was a "wise choice". Just an example...

He never won a title after AO because he was simply getting way too bored with tennis, didn't put in the effort. Behaved like a diva on court. A spoiled brat.

Murray has been FAR more injured since 2017 than Safin ever was, yet Murray managed to squeeze a win in Antwerp. There are no excuses for Safin not winning one title between AO05 and 2009.
 

Nordung

New User
goran for sure HOWEVER fwiw i might have to admit cilic’s uso streak there might have been better all around tennis than i ever saw goran play. dude was like not missing, serving bombs. running everything down...really was just in the zone.

This.
The way he went through Berdych, Federer and Nishikori in 3 sets like they are nothing, very impressive performance, that was his absolute peak. Too bad that level of play he unlocked in USO 2014. was simply unsustainable for him even for short period of time. If he could play like that his entire career he would be member of big four. Mental instability, something we could compare these two also.
 
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