Dubai: With his first Grand Slam title in his pocket, Croatia’s Marin Cilic is confidently eyeing more Majors in the future with the help of his coach Goran Ivanisevic.

Returning from a ban following a failed drugs test in 2013, Cilic became only the second Croat after his coach Ivanisevic to win a singles Grand Slam when he scalped Kei Nishikori in the finals of the US Open earlier this year.

With his win in New York, Cilic put behind the ghost of being one of the young players who have not lived up to their potential in the world of tennis. If at all, his four-month ban from tennis only made him stronger as he bounced back in great style beating some of the top players including Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych to claim his first career Major.

Ivanisevic has had a hand in the development of Cilic right from a young age. After being encouraged by his local coaches to move to Zagreb to further his tennis career, Cilic was befriended by Ivanisevic, who introduced him to famous coach Bob Brett before turning professional in 2005. But it was only at the end of 2013 that Cilic decided to hire the 2001 Wimbledon champion as his coach.

“For the new year, I am assured of a top-10 spot for most of the year, so the pressure is out. I am now looking to make the next step and add something more to my game and work even harder to realise my potential. I want to try and be a very solid top-10 player and I am looking forward to scaling it down to top-five perhaps for next year,” Cilic told the media after the UAE Royals’ narrow loss to the Singapore Slammers on Friday.

“I think just reaching my true potential will be a great achievement for me. Goran worked a lot with my approach to the game I need to play and what we need to improve, so that I can be more consistent and I am sure we can look forward to another promising year,” he added.

Undoubtedly, much of Cilic’s inspiration comes from his rock-solid coach. “During the IPTL, Goran has been playing day after day and this just proves what sort of stuff legends are made of. Players like him have shown us they can still play some amazing tennis,” Cilic said.

“For me personally, it is just perfect to be in the same team as Goran. Not only do we get to improve our relationship, but we also get to draw a lot of spirit and energy from the rest of the team, while getting to know some other players as well,” he added.