LONDON: The 2017 Wimbledon Championships is one that is deeply embedded in the mind of Marin Cilic, but not all of his memories are happy.
Last year he defeated America’s Sam Querrey to reach the final of SW19 for the first time in his career. Becoming the second Croatian male in history to do so after Goran Ivanišević’s triumph back in 2001. Unfortunately for Cilic, the final didn’t go the way he would have wanted. Close to tears, his form on the court was hindered by a severe blister on the bottom of his foot. Resulting in a one-sided win for Roger Federer.
“Just before the tournament in Wimbledon, I went to see the specialist for a pedicure at Wimbledon, and the lady helped me a lot.” A smiling Cilic reflected at The Queen’s Club. “Obviously with feet, it’s very sensitive. I think everything worked well for those two-and-a-half weeks.”
Leading up to his showdown with Federer, the Croat refused to let the problem deter his mentality. Believing that it would have little impact on his performance at the grass-court major.
“I was really confident it was going to be okay.” He said.
“But unfortunately things didn’t go well. And even with a couple injections to numb the pain, nothing helped. I was a little bit handicapped.”
Fortunately those problems are now in the past. Asked how his sole was this year, Cilic smiled and replied ‘They’re good.’
This season the Croat has once again illustrated his talent on the grass. On Saturday he defeated Nick Kyrgios to reach his fourth final of the Fever-Tree Championships. Something that he has only previously done in his home country at the Zagreb Indoors.
Cilic will take on Novak Djokovic for the Queen’s title on Sunday. He has lost 14 of his 15 matches against the former world No.1. Although his sole win occurred when they last clashed at the 2016 Paris Masters. Something he hopes to replicate this weekend.
“You can see that he’s fighting hard on the court, not letting any points go by him. You can see that his mentality is back and he’s playing good tennis.” He said of Djokovic. “I think on grass, especially, he is returning great throughout the week, and that’s one of his biggest weapons.”
Regardless of his less than spectacular record against Djokovic, Cilic can seek solace in his consistency on the tour. He has now reached the quarter-finals or better at six out of his 10 tournaments so far this season.
“I’m feeling confident on the court, feeling great. I had a lot of matches in this last month and a half, and I feel that my game is where it needs to be at the moment. Hopefully I can deliver again in tomorrow’s match.” He concluded.
The Queen’s final will take place at 14:30 GMT on Sunday with Cilic confident that he will be blister-free. Well, hopefully that is.
