Marin Cilic tests his knee against Kevin Anderson at Kooyong

The start of the new season was not that good for the Croat, though, having to withdraw from the ATP 250 event in Pune in the opening week of the year due to a knee injury and heading to Melbourne where he entered Kooyong Classic for the first and last preparation before the start of the Australian Open on Monday.

Despite the win, Marin admitted he still feels a little bit rusty but he hopes to be ready for the first Grand Slam of the season and that the knee will hold on and allow him to play at his best, having to defend 1200 points after a great run at Melbourne Park in 2018, pushing Roger Federer to the limits in the title match before falling down in five sets.

The knee felt slightly more stiff than usual, maybe thats from a first match, . I need a few more days to play and train and hopefully reach 100 percent. It took me some time to recover from the emotional end to last season with the Davis Cup.

Im feeling a bit rusty, but Im hitting the ball well and feel on good form.