Cilic nets 500th win, becomes 10th active player to reach milestone

Continuing to add to his legacy, third-seeded Croatian tennis player Marin Cilic entered the elite list of players registering 500 ATP tour wins. The player registered the milestone win after beating by beating fellow Croatian Ivo Karlovic at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. The 31-year-old defeated Karlovic in straight sets 6-1, 7(7)-6(5) on Thursday. 

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An illustrious career 

His 500th win came 13 years after Cilic recorded his first ATP Tour match victory. With this, he became the10th active player and 50th all-time to have achieved the milestone. After beating Karlovic, Cilic will face Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup.

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World No. 25 who entered the professional world of tennis in 2005 told ATPtour.com, that the 500th win reflects his 'amazing' journey in professional tennis. He said, "It would definitely mean that I've had an amazing career. I’ve been on the Tour for many years and, more or less, every season has been quite consistent from me. I’ve played a lot of matches and there’s always an opportunity to learn from every match. That’s the nice part of tennis."

Adding that it was vital to be at his best and to stay motivated, Cilic said, "I’m aware of [the milestones] when I achieve them and it’s a huge satisfaction that the work is showing itself in the results. Overall, my goal is to be the best I can be. You always want to be pushing that limit and never be too satisfied. It’s definitely important to have that motivation to keep moving you forward."

READ: Daniil Medvedev Withdraws From Kremlin Cup Citing Exhaustion

Records

Cilic has 18 career singles titles to his name and has also won the US Open in 2014, beating Japan's Kei Nishikori. The two-time Moscow champion (2014 and 2015). In 2018, he missed Australian Open after Roger Federer got the better of him in the finals. However, later in the year, he clinched the second Davis Cup for Croatia after defeating Lucas Pouille. 

After the tournament in Moscow, Cilic will be playing in the Paris Masters beginning on October 28.

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