ATP Tour

Cilic ties Ivansevic for most wins by Croatian man in Open Era

Marin Cilic reached parity with one of his iconic countrymen after a commanding second-round performance on Thursday at the Australian Open.

With his 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 triumph against Denis Shapovalov at Melbourne Park, the 37-year-old Cilic earned his 599th tour-level victory, drawing him level with former World No. 2 and 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic for the most wins by a Croatian man in the Open Era.

“I think it is an incredible achievement for any Croatian,” Cilic told ATPTour.com in Melbourne. “I know Goran. When I was working with him he said, ‘Nobody told me I had 599. I would have played another one!’. We were laughing.

“Just fantastic to be in this position. Obviously different careers, different times. We are both different kind of players. But also in order to achieve this number of victories you have to be so consistent for so many years. So it's a great achievement for a Croatian.”

Cilic, himself a former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings and a Grand Slam titlist at the 2014 US Open, can hit another milestone on Saturday in Melbourne. He will bid to surpass Ivanisevic and notch his 600th tour-level win when he faces 12th seed Casper Ruud or Jaume Munar. The Croatian would become just the second active player to hit 600 wins after Novak Djokovic.