Top ranking keeps pushing me to be mentally stronger

I would mention Yuki Bhambri. I followed his play and rise on the tour and was quite impressed. I hope he reaches his potential in the next few seasons. I’m always trying to work hard on fitness. It’s not always easy to find things, like the gyms in the hotels while you’re on tour. Running also helps you prevent injuries.

NEW DELHI : After a stellar 2016, Marin Cilic is eager to do better this season. Back at the Chennai Open after some years, the Croatian has a new coach by his side and the hunger to win bigger titles. In an email interview with HT, Cilic spoke his mind.

Excerpts: It’s going to be great to start the season at such a high ranking. My goal going into the Chennai Open will be to reach the top 5 as there will be a lot of great players behind and ahead of me.

My goal for 2017 will be to win another Grand Slam or maybe more. It is difficult but I believe in myself and will push myself. success. Everyone has a different understanding of the game and how to approach it tactically, which has been good for me and I’m enthusiastic how it’s going to pan out in the next season. With a lot of victories by the end of the season, reaching the World Tour finals and the top 8 shows how much I have improved in such a short period of time. top is always a little bit of extra pressure but I am used to that and I like it. It pushes me to be focused, be a little bit stronger mentally during the week. It’s important to open the season well and especially with a No 6 next to my name is something I am going to see during the year. It was nice. Coming from a small city (Medjugorje) famous for its Catholic traditions, we get about one million pilgrims every year in our city. Religion has played a big part in my life since childhood. The decision to move to Zagreb was one of the toughest as I was just 14.

I started playing tennis when I was 7 and my country didn’t have a great tradition, especially my region. My father built a court and it was the start of a journey and it has been nice.