Marin Cilic appears to have revitalised his tennis career at the age of 37.
Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, began his Australian Open campaign by demolishing Daniel Altmaier, 6-0, 6-0, 7-6.
On Thursday, the Croat produced an equally spectacular performance, defeating 21st seed Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 at the 1573 Arena.
Cilic, one of the few players to disrupt the dominance of the ‘big three’ at Grand Slam tournaments, has achieved Croatian history after his latest victory.
Marin Cilic equals Goran Ivanisevic record
Marin Cilic has launched himself into the same stratosphere as Goran Ivanisevic – a legendary Croatian tennis player who won the 2001 Wimbledon title as a wildcard.
As per OptaAce, Marin Cilic has claimed his 599th career match win at ATP level, equalling Goran Ivanisevic for the most of any Croatian player in the Open Era.
Ivanisevic played his final tournament at the 2004 Wimbledon Championships. The Croat defeated Jamie Delgado and Filippo Volandri, before losing to Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets.
Cilic will have the opportunity to surpass Ivanisevic’s record when he plays Casper Ruud in the Australian Open third round.
Ruud, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, played some excellent tennis on Thursday to defeat Jaume Munar.
The winner of Cilic and Ruud will play Ben Shelton or Valentin Vacherot in the fourth round.
Marin Cilic reacts to equalling Ivanisevic’s record
After defeating Shapovalov on Thursday, Cilic was understandably happy at equalling the record of a Croatian tennis legend.
During his post-match press conference, Cilic said: “I think an incredible achievement for any Croatian.
“I know Goran. When I was working with him, he said nobody told me I had 599. I would have played another one [laughter]. We were laughing.
“Just fantastic to be in this position. Obviously different careers, different times. We are both different kinds of players.
“But also in order to achieve these number of victories you have to be so consistent for so many years. So it’s a great achievement for Croatian.”
Cilic enjoyed the most successful period of his career under Ivanisevic’s tutelage. The pair worked together between September 2013 and July 2016; a period during which Cilic won his only Grand Slam title at the 2014 US Open.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
