Marin Cilic was defeated in Melbourne on January 28th by a resurgent Roger Federer, leaving the Croatian with just a single Grand Slam success to his name. The 2014 US Open champion is eyeing up further success in 2018, and Wimbledon looks like a realistic target for the 29-year-old.

Cilic took Federer to five sets in the Australian Open final, and despite battling admirably, he wasn’t able to prevent the Swiss veteran from clinching his 20th Grand Slam title. Having practiced on the outdoor courts prior to the final, many felt as though the deployment of the roof at the Rod Laver Arena handed Cilic a significant disadvantage. Temperatures reached 33 degrees and following a number of complaints from players during the course of the tournament; it was decided that the roof should be closed for the showpiece event. Federer has an imperious 272-65 record on the indoor courts and proved superior in those circumstances once again.

Cilic’s goals

Marin Cilic was disappointed with the outcome but reacted positively and told reporters that he remains upbeat and reinforced that his “goal of winning a Grand Slam tournament by the end of the season remains and the ultimate ambition is to be number one.” The new world number three suggested that he has made huge progress over the past couple of years but he won’t be won’t be satisfied until he reaches the top of the rankings.

It wasn’t the first time that he’s bumped into Roger Federer in the last 12 months, with the pair having met in the Wimbledon 2017 final. Federer started as the odds-on favorite and as the bookmakers expected, the Basel-born veteran came out on top once again at SW19, but Cilic is determined to bounce back at this year’s event.

It is one of the Croatian’s favorite tournaments with a record of 27-10, and he has managed to progress to the final eight in each of the last four years. He has been priced up as one of the favourites for this year’s event and those who wish to back him for success in West London can get some early free bets for Wimbledon 2018, including up to £100 with Betfair, who have Cilic as fifth-favourite to secure his second Grand Slam title and bounce back from last year’s disappointment.

Marin Cilic: “Cheers to the final @rogerfederer ! 🥥🎾” IG #RogerFederer pic.twitter.com/cbM74zNxqx

— Dalinda (@Dalinda_RF) January 27, 2018

Source: Dalinda via Twitter

Cilic has still only beaten Roger Federer on just one occasion, and he’ll be hoping to avoid bumping into the Swiss maestro at this year’s tournament. The return of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray is also a possibility and is likely to make the Croatian’s quest for Grand Slam glory a little bit tougher. Djokovic has suffered a frustrating recurrence of his elbow injury and will have to go back to the drawing board while the details of Murray’s return remain sketchy.

He embarked upon his best grass-court season in 2017 chalking up a 12-3 record, a run which included victories over Gilles Muller, Sam Querrey, Steve Johnson and Roberto Bautista-Agut. He will be confident of progressing to the latter stages of the tournament once again in SW19. He also reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2017 but he doesn’t have a great record at Roland Garros, and he looks far more comfortable and at home on the grass courts. Wimbledon 2018 is already on the mind of many players, and Marin Cilic remains absolutely determined to hold the trophy aloft on center court later this year.