Marin Cilic acknowledged the greatness of the Big Three and noted that Roger Federer “transformed tennis.” Cilic, who captured his lone Grand Slam title at the 2014 US Open, has had many battles against Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on the biggest stage.
Cilic, 34, often goes to YouTube to watch highlights from his matches against the three all-time greats. “Yes I do (watches the big moments of his matches against the Big 3). Very often I would go on YouTube and watch highlights of many of their matches.
Those were the pinnacles of the sport. Roger, which career was so long, don’t remember him so vividly (his early days). 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 were some of his most incredible years,” Cilic said on the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast.
Cilic on Federer: He transformed tennis
“As a player, he transformed tennis, and those moments I remember them, some with positives, some with negatives, but those are the ones that pushed me to go stronger and get myself to another level,” Cilic said of Federer.
Cilic didn’t enjoy much success against Federer as he claimed just one win in their 11 meetings. However, that one win turned out to be one of the most important wins of Cilic’s career. In the 2014 US Open semifinal, Cilic stunned Federer in three sets to reach at the time his first Grand Slam final.
Cilic then defeated Kei Nishikori in the final to lift his first and lone Grand Slam title. In the 2017 Wimbledon final, Cilic clashed against Federer. Unfortunately for Cilic, he didn’t stand much of a chance since the Swiss claimed a straight-set win.
Six months later, Cilic and Federer met in the 2018 Australian Open final. This time, Cilic played much better but Federer still escaped with a five-set win to win his 20th Grand Slam title. Last year, Cilic and Federer met for the last time as the Swiss defeated the Croatian at the French Open.
