'I was going for broke against Roger Federer', says former US Open champion

Marin Cilic was the second Croatian in tennis history (after Goran Ivanisevic) to win a Grand Slam tournament, triumphing at the 2014 US Open against Kei Nishikori. He also reached the final at Wimbledon 2017 and the Australian Open 2018, losing on both occasions against Roger Federer. In his career, he has won 14 hard court titles (including the Cincinnati Masters 1000 against Andy Murray), 2 on clay and 2 on grass, for a total of 18 ATP titles. He reached the third position in the ranking in January 2018. A Davis Cup won in the same year also appears in his palmarès, the second of Croatia after the triumph in Bratislava against Slovakia in 2005. In a podcast on ATP Tennis Radio, 2014 US Open champion talked about his 2017 Wimbledon final defeat to Roger Federer, where a foot blister hurt his chances.

Cilic: 'I knew I had no chance to win'

"That was really bad luck, the blister on my foot," Marin Cilic said. "I had never encountered that issue before but it happened on that day. I was going for broke, trying to go for short rallies," Cilic added. "But you cannot disguise an injury like that on the court. The opponent knows where to play the ball. I knew I had no chance to win, especially against Roger Federer, but didn't retire as it was the Wimbledon final," he concluded. Federer and Marin Cilic have played 10 times, with Federer leading 9-1. Cilic's only victory came in the 2014 US Open semifinals, after which he went on to win the Grand Slam title. Their first encounter was in the 3rd round in the 2008 Paris Masters, which Federer won in straight sets. They have played five Grand Slam matches, two in Wimbledon, two in the US Open, and one at the 2018 Australian Open; Federer leads these matches 4–1. Two of these have been Grand Slam finals – the 2017 Wimbledon final, which Federer won in straight sets, and the 2018 Australian Open final, which Federer won in five sets. Federer currently holds two of men's tennis' most coveted records - all-time Grand Slam titles (20) and weeks at No 1 (310) - but Djokovic is closing the gap on him with 17 majors to his name and 282 weeks. With Djokovic being nearly six years younger than Federer, it is highly likely he will eventually overtake the Swiss, especially if he remains healthy.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2V8gcCG