Cilic never doubted Wimbledon chances
He may have failed with his first 10 attempts to reach the Wimbledon final but Marin Cilic never lost hope.
Marin Cilic broke a record at Wimbledon on Friday as he secured a place in the final at the 11th attempt, but he insists he never doubted his chances of success at SW19.
Since making his debut in 2007, Cilic has only ever been as far as the quarter-finals at the grass-court grand slam, the Croatian achieving that feat in each of the last three years.
Novak Djokovic - twice - and Roger Federer ended his dreams on those occasions but he finally made it to the final this time around after beating Sam Querrey in the semi-finals.
And, while Cilic admitted it was a relief to be back in a grand slam showpiece, he never let the pressure get to him.
"I actually didn't think about it," he told a post-match media conference.
"Just before winning the US Open, for me, I felt that I was still playing really well, but I was questioning myself if that Grand Slam trophy is ever going to come.
"Then it arrived at I would say a great moment for me.
"For here at Wimbledon, I never thought about that, if I'm ever going to make it.
"It was more just playing well. I believe in these last three, four years, even when I started to work with Goran [Ivanisevic], my game on grass, and especially here in Wimbledon, has changed and shifted a little bit.
"It's helped me to play better on all other surfaces. I believe that I was progressing really nicely as a player in these last three, four years."
And winning the title on Sunday to claim his second grand slam is something that would leave the 28-year-old on cloud nine.
"It would mean the world to me," he added.
"I feel that when I won the US Open in 2014, it just opened up so many possibilities in my mind for the rest of my career.
"To be able to do it again would definitely mean, I would say, even more because I know how much it meant for me to win that first one.
"It would be absolutely a dream come true to win Wimbledon."