As a former grand slam champion, it has come as no suprise that Marin Cilic has set out some ambitious goals.
At the age of 29 he is currently at his ranking best of third in the world. 3785 points adrift from world No.1 Rafael Nadal. He heads into the clay season with a win-loss record of 14-5 so far this year. Finishing runner-up at the Australian Open to Roger Federer in January. Now making his final preparations for this week’s Monte Carlo Masters, the Croat is determined to live up to his seeding.
“(Being) seeded two straight away sets up a different look at the tournament, different expectations as well,” Cilic explained on Sunday.
“Now I’m in a position when I come into any tournament feeling like I can go deep, and also with my game at the moment that’s the feel on the court as well.”
Historically clay court Masters tournaments have been somewhat of a dissapointment for Cilic. He is yet to progress beyond the quarter-final stage at either Monte Carlo, Madrid or Rome since making his debut in 2008. Furthermore, only two of his 17 ATP titles have occurred on the dirt. Although one of them was last year at the Istanbul Open. His most recent trophy to date. It was also during that season where he reached the last eight at Roland Garros for the first time.
Cilic, who won the 2014 US Open, doesn’t just want glory on the clay. He is also looking to conquer the ATP rankings. Something that fellow countryman and former coach Goran Ivanisevic was unable to do.
“I think it (No. 1 ranking) is (within reach), it’s where I’m aiming at, it’s my ultimate goal,” said Cilic.
“I’m working for that every single day, week, month… It’s easier when I have that distant thing in front of me that keeps my motivation high.”
The target set is a tough, but an achievable one. Cilic has a golden chance to overtake Federer, who is currently absent from the tour, and close in on Nadal’s top spot over the next couple of months. Until the end of the French Open, he will only have 980 points to defend. That works out to nearly 20% of Nadal’s tally of 4680 points.
The second seed will start his Monte Carlo bid against either Fernando Verdasco or Pablo Cuevas. He has a bye in the first round.
