US Open 2022: Marin Cilic vs. Maximilian Marterer Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 US Open as Marin Cilic takes on Maximilian Marterer in the first round on Tuesday, August 30th, 2022.

How will former champion Marin Cilic fare on his return to the US Open? The 2014 winner should be backed to reach the second round on Tuesday, but he could be tested by the resurgent German qualifier Maximilian Marterer. Will Cilic prevail, or will Marterer shock the number 15 seed?

Marin Cilic start his US Open campaign against a qualifier. That may sound like music to his ears, but Cilic will be well aware of the threats possessed by Maximilian Marterer. Last season he was stunned by Philipp Kohlschreiber (albeit via retirement while trailing 2-0 in the fifth set) in the first round of the US Open. Is history about to repeat itself one year on? That is a long shot. Cilic is playing much better tennis right now. And he arrives in New York seeded at No. 15 and has compiled a 25-15 record in 2022.

Maximilian Marterer is a player who is yet to fulfill his vast teenage potential. That is largely due to injuries. Marterer has been blighted by a serious of career-threatening knee injuries for almost three years and only started to play a full schedule since last season. His ranking has taken a significant hit, but is slowly on the mend. The German had to navigate his way past three opponents in qualifying for this year’s US Open.

Marin Cilic and Maximilian Marterer have not played each other on the ATP Tour. Tuesday’s match at the US Open will be their first official meeting. By dint of ranking and his Grand Slam record, Cilic has to be the favorite in this matchup. He seems to be enjoying his tennis again and that could him a formidable challenger this week. Marterer has acclimatized with court conditions and the balls, but he has caught the Croat at the wrong time.