Already holding a place amongst US Open greats, 2014 champion Marin Cilic added another accomplishment to his resume on Thursday in Moscow.
The 31-year-old from Croatia defeated compatriot Ivo Karlovic, 6-1, 7-6, in the second round of the VTB Kremlin Cup to score his 500th career win on the ATP tour.
Cilic, a winner in Flushing five years ago, is the 10th active player to achieve the feat, and the sixth active US Open champion, joining Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka.
The 6-foot-6 right-hander scored his first ATP main-draw victory in his home country in 2006, in Zagreb, Croatia, as a 17-year-old, and has been a stalwart in the ATP's top ranks for the past decade.
The 2014 US Open trophy, one of Cilic's 18 career titles, has been the zenith to date, but his decorated career also consists of runner-up showings at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and a Masters 1000 title at the US Open Series event in Cincinnati.
His victory in New York made Cilic the first Croatian man to capture a Grand Slam singles title in 13 years, catapulted him back into the world's Top 10, and was the first of his three three Slam final appearances to date.
Even still, his championship victory in Flushing was doubly historic for Cilic's list of personal achievements: his four-set victory over Kei Nishikori in the final, following a straight-sets upset of Federer in the semifinals, was his 300th career victory.
"It's definitely the place where I have the best memories from. I just enjoy my time around here," Cilic said during this year's Open, where he reached the Round of 16 before falling to eventual champion Nadal.
"Still, it's down to do the stuff that I need to on the court: put my head down, just work on my game, look to get better day by day."
To score No. 500, it nearly took two days: Cilic achieved his latest feat as Thursday became Friday in Moscow, as the last match on a lengthy schedule of play at the combined ATP and WTA event.
He served 11 aces and was never broken to beat his elder compatriot for the fourth time overall, and for the first time since 2016.
In addition to his place amongst the active players, Cilic is also the 50th player in the Open era to reach the 500-win plateau.
“It would definitely mean that I've had an amazing career," Cilic told ATPTour.com from Moscow. "I’ve been on the tour for many years and, more or less, every season has been quite consistent from me. I’ve played a lot of matches, and there’s always an opportunity to learn from every match. That’s the nice part of tennis.
“I’m aware of [the milestones] when I achieve them, and it’s a huge satisfaction that the work is showing itself in the results. Overall, my goal is to be the best I can be. You always want to be pushing that limit and never be too satisfied. It’s definitely important to have that motivation to keep moving you forward."
And for his next act?
“I’d like to be able to get 600 wins. It would be an amazing achievement.”
