Marin Cilic focuses on the positives from his Wimbledon campaign

07/18/2017

Having been outclassed by Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final on Sunday, Marin Cilic said that he would rather focus on the fact that he made it to the final of the most prestigious tournament of the year, rather than his loss in the final. The Croatian also revealed his plans ahead of the US Open.

Although Marin Cilic put up a valiant display en route to making the final at SW19, he couldn’t get going against Roger Federer on the biggest stage of them all. But the World No. 6 chose to reminisce on the positives of his performances over the last two weeks, rather than the final blip.

"These last two weeks have been great for me. My level (of tennis) was in a position where it hasn't been before on grass, I'm extremely satisfied with that. Extremely happy," TOI reported Cilic as saying.

"This (making the final) will give me much more confidence, much more strength for the rest of the year. I know that my level can even go higher, so that is something that I'm looking forward to," the 28-year-old added.

While some were expecting Cilic to make things difficult for Federer in the final, it wasn’t to be the case as the Croatian struggled with his serve in the final. Further, his chances in the final, as well as his movement on the big day, were hampered by the blisters he suffered on his left foot. And he admitted to this fact by saying, "Every time I had to act quickly, a fast change of movement, I was unable to do that. It was tough emotionally for me because of how much I went through the last few months to prepare for this tournament."

In fact, Cilic’s injury was so bad that he was sobbing into his towel at the change of ends during the second set. But the 28-year-old said that the physical distress was not the only thing that moved him to tears. "It was a feeling that I knew that I cannot give my best on the court, that I cannot give my best game and my best tennis, at this stage of my career, in such a big match. It was extremely difficult to accept it."

Cilic also revealed that the injury first occurred to him during his semi-final win over Sam Querrey and though his medical team and the tournament physio tried to help him out as much as possible in the build-up to the final, it wasn’t good enough. "I felt it straight after the match in the semifinals (against Sam Querrey) on Friday. I felt that the foot wasn't so good. We tried to take some fluid out overnight, and in the morning (on Saturday) it was worse. We kept it in the team. I was still hoping that everything was going to be good."

Finally, speaking of the road ahead, the Croatian said he would take the next three weeks off and allow his foot to heal.

"I plan to play in Montreal and Cincinnati, he said of the run of tournaments leading up to the US Open in August.

"I believe that by that time everything is going to be okay," the 2014 US Open champion concluded.