By Erik Gudris | Monday, June 30, 2014

 

Marin Cilic fell under sharp scrutiny last year. But now the Croatian finds himself in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time.

Photo Credit: Getty

Marin Cilic is making the best sort of comeback. The unexpected one.

That's because the former top 10 Croatian star could have let a difficult 2013 derail his entire career. Yet now at age 25, Cilic is making a big step forward at this year's Wimbledon.

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With his straight sets win over Jeremy Chardy of France on Monday, Cilic reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time in his career. Having turned pro in 2005, many expected the lanky 6' 6" Cilic to reach the last eight there by now.

Cilic made his presence felt to most tennis fans back at the 2009 U.S. Open when he defeated Andy Murray to reach the quarterfinals. A semifinal run at the 2010 Australian Open soon led to Cilic reaching a career high ranking of No. 9. It seemed Cilic just might become a long term member of that elite tier.

Yet Cilic spent most of the next few years mired inside the top 20. Then came last year's Wimbledon when Cilic initially withdrew from the event due to what he said was a knee injury. As rumors of a possible doping offense swirled, Cilic finally admitted he mistakenly took a glucose supplement during the Monte Carlo event that April.

Though the ITF initially handed Cilic a nine-month ban starting last September, the ban was later reduced to four months.

"For me, the most important part was that I found some mental toughness out of all of that," Cilic said to Eurosport about the ban. "When I came back it sort of gave me more motivation to work and use every opportunity I had to be prepared for every tournament. I used that time as well for physical preparation. Overall, I am feeling very well and I think my game is at a high level."

Cilic is now only the fourth Croatian man ever to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals. One of those was former 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic who now currently serves as Cilic's coach. The partnership began at the start of this season and Cilic credits the charismatic Ivanisevic as a big part of his comeback.

"Having him over here beside me is definitely another big plus. He's been in the second week of Wimbledon many times, so of course I'm leaving all the small details up to him," Cilic said of his coach.

The one area Ivanisevic has helped Cilic with the most is the Croat's serve. Back in February, Ivanisevic told ATPTour.com that Cilic also needed to become more aggressive overall.

“Over the past couple of years he was not improving his game. He was not getting anywhere. He was playing well, but not well enough to beat the top guys. He is a tall guy, so he needed to be more aggressive, Ivanisevic said. “At 198 centimeters, he had a shaky serve. We have worked a lot. He is now hitting two aces per game and is in the top two aces leaders on tour this season."

Ivanisevic and his input have paid off. Cilic has reached three finals and won two titles in Zagreb and Delray Beach. Now ranked No. 29, Cilic is poised for a possible return to the top 20.

Cilic will face a tough test in the next round though. He'll next meet top seed Novak Djokovic who he hasn't beaten in nine tries. But for a man who almost a year ago perhaps wondered if he would ever play tennis again, the opportunity to take on that challenge is perhaps unexpected, but yet, most welcomed.