Marin Cilic has a keen awareness of the history of the Wimbledon Championships. His former coach, Goran Ivanisevic, made headlines for Croatia by winning Wimbledon in 2001 and Cilic can vividly recall every detail.

“Everyone knows where they were when Goran played,” said Cilic. “I was in a tennis summer camp, close to my hometown. We watched like a big group of children. It was a big celebration. I was still a kid, not even 13 years old. I was just enjoying playing tennis.” 

Cilic is playing well enough to produce similar memories for kids in Croatia. He’s won more grass-court matches than anyone on tour this season, reaching the semi-finals at the Ricoh Open and finishing runner-up at the Aegon Championships (l. Lopez) prior to his Wimbledon run. His serve has also arguably been the strongest shot of the tournament. Cilic has hit 127 aces this fortnight and routinely used first-serves to set up forehand winners.

He credited small changes he made during the clay-court season with coach Jonas Bjorkman to his big results over the past few months. Cilic has gone 23-6 since April and prevailed on clay this April in Istanbul (d. Raonic).

“It’s not just one detail. It is the work and process that goes on for weeks,” said Cilic. “I made little changes with my own team, in the training routine, preparations for matches. I believe with that consistency in the training program and in the matches, it helped me to be a little bit more stronger mentally.

“I was feeling that I could depend a lot on my own game. When I had to produce good tennis, I was producing it,” he added. “That was obviously giving me a lot of confidence.”

Cilic trails Federer 1-6 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head Series, but his lone win was one of the most memorable in his career. The Croatian produced a flawless performance in the 2014 US Open semi-finals to defeat Federer in straight sets and eventually win to his maiden Grand Slam title. Federer reflected on Friday that the match was one of the finest performances anyone has put in against him.

Some of Cilic’s most painful losses have also come against Federer, though. He failed to convert on three match points against the Swiss star in their 2016 Wimbledon quarter-final and ultimately lost in five sets. Although it was a difficult defeat to swallow, Cilic said the experience made him a better player.

“Obviously it’s tough when you’re losing, but the losses are giving you a better picture, a clearer picture, compared to when you are winning. When you are winning, everything is great. You don’t look too much on the bad stuff,” said Cilic. “I’ve matured a little bit more in dealing with losses, especially on a big stage and in big tournaments. I feel just taking small details out of those matches have helped me to become better and use them in situations when I see them again.”

Utilising those past experiences have helped Cilic break past quarter-final finishes at Wimbledon in the past three years and into his second Grand Slam final. Although he’s already lifted one Slam trophy before, he said defeating Federer on Sunday would be the greatest moment of his career.

“It would absolutely mean the world to me,” said Cilic. “When I won the US Open, it opened so many possibilities in my mind for the rest of my career. To be able to do it again would mean even more because I know how much it meant for me to win that first one. It would be a dream come true to win Wimbledon.”

Roger Federer may be the on-paper favourite against Marin Cilic in the Wimbledon final on Sunday, but he knows the Croatian can’t be underestimated.

The Swiss star was in a similar position during their 2014 US Open semi-final, but Cilic put in one of the finest performances of his career to dismiss Federer in straight sets. The match was one of the few times where Federer simply didn’t have answers on the court.

“It puts all the other great performances against me to shame,” reflected Federer. “I thought he played very well. He was clocking returns and serves at will. He was doing a great job. He was confident and feeling it and seeing it. It was definitely very, very impressive.”

Federer leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head against Cilic 6-1, but their lone match since that US Open battle came in the 2016 Wimbledon quarter-finals. The seven-time champion saved rallied from two sets down and saved three match points to prevail in a classic encounter.

Sunday’s final marks the first time since the 2009 US Open (del Potro) that Federer is going up against someone outside the Big Four in a Grand Slam championship, but he said it won’t change his preparation in any way.

“Thank God I’ve played also guys who were not called Rafa, Andy or Novak in the past, like Marcos Baghdatis and Fernando Gonzalez and others,” said Federer. “I don’t want to say it’s more relaxed going into it because I have a good head-to-head record against Marin, even though the matches were extremely close. But it’s not like we’ve played against each other 30 times. You feel like you have to reinvent the wheel. It’s a nice change, but it doesn’t make things easier, in my opinion.”

Federer’s decision to skip the clay-court season and focus on the grass has paid off handsomely. He won a ninth Gerry Weber Open title last month (d. Zverev), and has prevailed in his last 11 matches and 27 sets on the surface. Although he has vowed that there will be no more breaks this season, Federer said that having a sensible schedule will remain essential in boosting his chances at more success.

“Health definitely has a role to play in my decision-making, As I move forward, I’ll be very cautious of how much I will play and how much I think is healthy,” said Federer. “Then it’s just discussions I always have with my wife about the family, about my kids. Is everybody happy on tour? Are we happy to pack up and go on tour for five, six, seven weeks? Are we willing to do that? For the time being, it seems like absolutely no problem, which is wonderful.

“Then success, to some extent, is also key for staying out there,” he added. “This tournament hopefully helps me to stay on tour longer, to be honest.”

Experience will also be on Federer’s side in the Wimbledon championship. This Sunday marks his 29^th Grand Slam final, compared to two for Cilic. However, Federer’s familiarity in these occasions doesn’t mean he will be immune to nerves. The Swiss maestro admitted feeling anxious before his second-round match this fortnight against Dusan Lajovic and said he may be forced to handle nerves before he takes the court against Cilic.

“Sometimes it slows down your legs, your pulse starts racing, your head starts — not spinning, in the sense that you have a million ideas, but you have to take the right one. That can stress you out a tad,” he admitted. “But I always say I’m happy I feel that way because it means I care. It’s not like I’m going through the motions. That would be a horrible feeling.”

Everyone talks about seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer getting older. The Swiss right-hander will turn 36 in less than a month, on 8 August. But at least one of his peers remains unconvinced that he is, in fact, aging.

“I don’t see anything that would indicate Roger is getting older or anything like that. I think he’s just proving his greatness in our sport,” said Tomas Berdych, who fell to Federer 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 6-4 in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Friday. “If you look at the other guys who are 35, 36, I think you can very clearly see that the age and the years on tour are affecting them. But not with him.”

The ageless champion will play in his 11^th Wimbledon final on Sunday when he faces Croatian Marin Cilic. Berdych, who had beaten Federer during their last match-up at SW19, during the 2010 semi-finals, dug in against the fifth seed on Centre Court.

View Federer v Cilic FedEx ATP Head2Head Record

The 6’5” Berdych struck nine aces and saved seven of nine break points against the 18-time Grand Slam champion. Berdych was often the aggressor in the semi-final, charging the net 36 times and winning 20 of those attempts (56 per cent).

“I was trying to find my way. So whatever was possible to do I was trying. I also tried to come a little bit more to the net,” said Berdych, who fell to 6-19 against Federer in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. “But obviously it’s very, very difficult. Roger doesn’t give you any rhythm at all. He’s playing barely with any mistakes. He was controlling the game pretty well. Even those two sets in the tie-breaks, I was still the one facing a couple more break points down… It just shows how well he’s playing right now.”

Berdych was trying to reach his second Wimbledon final, after falling to Rafael Nadal in the 2010 title match. The 31-year-old Czech did well to repeat his semi-final appearance of a year ago. Berdych beat two Top 10 players – No. 8 Dominic Thiem and No. 3 Novak Djokovic – en route to his third Wimbledon semi-final.

“I think I played really good tennis throughout the whole tournament. But I just unfortunately faced a guy who’s playing his best,” Berdych said.

The World No. 15 said he remains undeterred by falling one win short of reaching his second Grand Slam final. “On one hand it is hard. On the other one, it’s a part of the sport I’m doing,” he said. “I’m still fully committed to being around and trying to fight for the results.”

In addition to fighting for tennis’ ultimate prize in Sunday’s Wimbledon final, both Roger Federer and Marin Cilic will be playing for important rankings milestones.

Federer will, for the first time in almost 11 months, reclaim a place within the Top 3 of the Emirates ATP Rankings if he wins a record eighth title at SW19. But, more importantly, he will greatly boost his chances of returning to World No. 1 later this year after a remarkable comeback season. The Swiss slipped from No. 3 to No. 4 on 22 August last year and, after missing the remainder of the season after last year’s Wimbledon, slipped to as low as No. 17 before winning the Australian Open in January.

Federer has remained in the Top 10 ever since, but slipped from No. 4 to No. 5 in recent months after skipping the clay-court swing to rest his 35-year-old body.

Should he win his 19th Grand Slam title Sunday, Federer will turn up the heat on Rafael Nadal in what increasingly looks like a two-man battle for the coveted year-end No. 1 Emirates ATP Ranking. Federer would move to No. 3 within 920 points of Nadal and to within 1,205 points of current World No. 1 Andy Murray. (Murray appears to have only a very remote chance of finishing the year No. 1 because he has 5,460 points to defend after Wimbledon following his stunning finish to the end of the 2016 season. In contrast, Nadal will defend just 370 points and Federer has no points to defend for the rest of the season.)

Federer holds the record for most weeks (302) spent at No. 1. He last held top spot in the first week of November, 2012.

Learn How The Emirates ATP Rankings Work

Cilic is now at a career-high No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and will crack the Top 5 for the first time if he adds a second major to the US Open crown he won in 2014. Under that scenario, Federer would remain at No. 6.

Novak Djokovic will move ahead of Stan Wawrinka when the new rankings are released Monday. If Federer is the Wimbledon champion and leaps three places to No. 3, Djokovic will be remain at 4 while passing Wawrinka, who will slip to No. 5. Cilic will remain at No. 6. If Cilic wins the final, Djokovic will move to No. 3, Wawrinka will slip to No. 4 and Cilic will be No. 5.