Marin & Friends
Marin Cilic was joined by some special guests on Saturday at the Monte-Carlo Country Club as he raised awareness for two special charities: Special Olympics and Fight Aids.
After qualifying action concluded on Court Central, Cilic was joined on court by Andreas Seppi and two Special Olympics athletes in an exhibition tie-break.
Eight-time Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters champion Rafael Nadal then walked onto court to a great reception to play Cilic in a short-set singles match.
Ivan Ljubicic entertained the crowd as he wore a microphone in the following match, which saw him partner Milos Raonic, whom he coaches, against Cilic and Thomas Johansson. They doubles Match Tie-break was interrupted, though, by World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who made a special guest appearance.
A short-set singles match between Raonic and fellow rising star Grigor Dimitrov rounded out the entertaining exhibition.
Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Fight Aids, founded by Princess Stéphanie in 2004, assists those living with HIV/AIDS and aims to prevent and de-stigmatise the disease through education.