Marin Cilic, on the rise again after a doping ban that still rankles, is playing the best tennis of his career, and it paid off as he booked his first grand slam semi-final in more than four years.
The Croatian powered past seventh-ranked Czech Tomas Berdych 6-2 6-4 7-6 (7-4) to reach the US Open final four, his first major semi since the 2010 Australian Open.
Shortly after that run in Melbourne, he reached a career-high of ninth in the world rankings, but he hadn't again made it so far in a major and his US Open record included quarter-final exits in 2009 and 2012 -- each time at the hands of the eventual champion.
"It feels great to be in the semis for the first time after three tries in quarter-finals," he said.
Cilic was on the sidelines as the 2013 US Open played out, embroiled in a doping scandal after a positive test for a banned stimulant.
A six-month ban was eventually reduced to four by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but world No.16 Cilic still believes the entire process was unjust.
"It angered me how all the process went because it was not fair to me. It wouldn't be fair to any tennis player," Cilic said. "But when you're against big organisations you can't do much. So I just accepted it."
Cilic, who says he unwittingly took the substance in an over-the-counter supplement, said the first notification he received of the positive test cited the wrong drug.
And he never got an explanation for why CAS reduced his ban essentially to time already missed -- but did not exonerate him.
"There was nothing much I could do because they played with the rules and they used it for their advantage," he said.
Cilic returned to the ATP tour in October, and says the work he put in while exiled has been paying off since then.
"It was a difficult period. I didn't know when I'm going to start back. But was also good period for me," he said.
"I matured a bit more and I was working day after day. I wasn't relaxing and doing nothing. So I think that helped me to improve physically. Also, it helped me to have enough time to put some new parts in my game, which are helping me to play this good now."
In his darkest hours, Cilic turned to national hero Ivanisevic for support and the former Wimbledon champion agreed to become his coach in November 2013.
"We work a lot -- some days we would have sessions of three, three-and-a-half hours or whatever, and we always have good time," he said of working with the always plain-spoken, often outrageous Ivanisevic. "I think that's most important. I would say, it can't be better."
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