Marin Cilic credits esteemed Australian coach Bob Brett for guiding him to within one tantalising win of joining one of tennis's most exclusive clubs as a dual grand slam champion.
Brett has been a conspicuous supporter back in Cilic's box during the Croat's charge to his first Australian Open final at Melbourne Park.
The one-time mentor of six-times major winner Boris Becker and 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic spent almost a decade working with Cilic before focusing on his Bob Brett School of Tennis in San Remo.
Cilic says he learnt "everything, everything the Italian way" during their association and believes he wouldn't be where he is without Brett's profound influence.
"Our relationship was lasting over nine years, and Bob has teached me a lot about tennis, about tennis life, and I am the player that I am today also because of him," the sixth seed said ahead of Sunday night's final.
"It was great to see him again over here. He was at last few matches watching and supporting me.
"It was a very nice experience. I learned a lot, and Bob is big, has a huge knowledge about the game and he pushed me in the right direction."
After bludgeoning his way to 2014 US Open glory, the powerhouse Croat has the chance to join Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Gustavo Kuerten, Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin as the only men this century to capture multiple grand slam crowns.
The 29-year-old admits becoming a dual grand slam winner is what drives him and is convinced he's a more complete player than when losing to Federer in last year's Wimbledon final.
"If you are not improving, you are getting worse as a player because everyone else is improving," Cilic said.
"The game is improving. There are a lot of youngsters coming up playing great tennis, so you have to always find a way to get better and better.
"You can see with many guys at the top, especially Roger, that he has been adapting really well to the game and to the opponents and to the players at the top. Always challenging him to get better and better.
"Same thing is for me. I did good analysis of the last season. Found some things that can improve my game, some small details in the game that I focused on.
"It's working really nicely in the start of this year."
Cilic was awaiting the winner of Friday night's second semi-final between defending champion Federer and unseeded South Korean Hyeon Chung.
The Croat said he wasn't fussed who he played for the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.
"I would like to play against the player that I would beat in the final." he said.
"I'm going to focus on myself."
