Last weekend, several Croatian tennis players competed in soccer tournaments organized by former US Open champion Marin Silic. Last year, the Sicily Foundation organized a Croatian event to help raise funds to build a multi-purpose sports field for the children of Tordic Elementary School. Last weekend, Cilic invited his Croatian tennis buddies to join him for a football match on the playground of Tordic Elementary School, which was built with funds raised from last year's event.
Cilic Infographic
In addition to Cilic, several other Croatian tennis stars participated in the tournament: Bona Chulic, Ivan Dodig, Nikola Mektić, Matt Pavic, Franco Scugo, as well as Anna Connew and Donna Wikicchi. According to the ATP Tour's website, Cilic said: "I had a lot of fun with the kids and I think my tennis buddies felt the same way. It was fun to swap tennis for football. ”
Croatia plans to work with his foundation to carry out similar projects to provide sports and recreational facilities for children in the country. The former US Open champion said: "I hope this new playground (playground) will provide healthy, fun and wonderful memories for children from this area." Hopefully many of them will find their love of sport here. The Cilic Foundation has helped more than 1,000 children in Croatia through their projects, awarded 37 scholarships to young athletes and classical musicians, helped restore four school laboratories in Croatia and hosted a free annual tennis summer camp for children in the Vukovar region.
Marin Cilic, 31, has won 18 ATP Tour singles titles in his career, including the 2014 U.S. Open singles title. His career-high singles ranking is third in the world, which he achieved in January 2018. He was also a finalist at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships and the 2018 Australian Open, both of which lost to Federer. He has received more than $27 million in professional prize money so far and is part of the 2018 Croatian Davis Cup-winning team. He is currently ranked 37th in the ATP World Singles Rankings.
(Compilation: Milk Jun, Picture: Visual China)