World Tour Finals player profile: Marin Cilic

                                                                  Marin Cilic

Season in review: This time last year, Cilic was returning from a four-month suspension and just trying to get in some match practice to position himself well for 2014. Whatever he did at the end of 2013, it certainly worked out. The ninth-ranked Croat was not exactly consistent this season, but any year in which you win a Grand Slam has to be considered a great one by anyone’s standards–especially for someone who is not a staple of the top five and had never previously won a major. That was the case for Cilic, who caught fired in New York en route to a stunning U.S. Open triumph.

2014 record: 54-18

Fall record (post-U.S. Open): 7-2

Best tournament: Won U.S. Open
d. Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 3-1 ret.
d. Illya Marchenko 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-4
d. Kevin Anderson 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
d. Gilles Simon 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
d. Tomas Berdych 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(4)
d. Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
d. Ke Nishikori 6-3, 6-3, 6-3