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Cilic, who won his maiden Grand Slam title in
2014 at the U.S. Open, reached the Wimbledon final in 2017 and
the title round of the Australian Open the following year to
climb to his highest ranking.
He has currently slipped to 43rd in the rankings but Cilic, who
is six foot and six inches tall, is still considered by top
players as a tricky opponent with his big serves and heavy
groundstrokes.
"I feel that I haven't reached my peak still," Cilic told
reporters after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-0 3-6 6-3 in
his opening round of the Paris Masters on Monday.
"Peak meaning that I feel the best on the court physically,
mentally, technically, that I play my best tennis. I would like
to reach that peak and feel that, 'okay, I have done that. This
is what I was working for, and I can relax my mind now and go
into retirement'.
"I feel definitely, I wouldn't say disappointed, but just, that
maybe I haven't reached my peak and accomplished what I could
have accomplished."
While the 2020 tennis season was left ravaged by a lengthy
shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the break proved timely
for Cilic, who became a parent for the first time in January.
The stop-start season allowed him to spend more time at home,
something professional players cannot afford to do normally, and
Cilic feels parenthood has helped him as a player.
"I'm feeling very happy on the court, off the court," he said.
"This just gives me a little bit more stability in playing. And
when I'm finishing tournaments, if I'm losing, I'm happy to go
home."
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by Christopher
Cushing)
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