Marin Cilic concedes his 2015 debut wasn't completely pain-free, but he feels good enough to remain in the Indian Wells doubles draw with Juan Martin del Potro.
Cilic, who has been sidelined with a right shoulder injury, lost his Indian Wells opener to Juan Monaco, 6-4, 6-4.
Predictably, he looked—and felt—a little rusty.
"I was feeling ready to play. Of course, when you're always playing first match you're never going to be completely 100 percent," Cilic said in his post-match press conference. "But I went today out on court to win and I was pushing myself. Even in the last games when Juan was serving for it I was even having few chances to come back. So it wasn't like one-way story today. Important is to play matches, to play official matches, and to get myself going and to feel this feeling on the court."
Asked to assess the state of his serving shoulder, Cilic said "it's getting there," but conceded he still feels some pain.
"I didn't feel completely painless," Cilic said. "Just I felt that it's a bit rusty still. So I felt that even on the serve I wasn't able to pop it, you know, to hit it at a full speed. So that was I think giving him a little more opportunities and more freedom in the game as I wasn't getting too many free points for the serve and overall from the game."
Still, Cilic said he will play doubles with del Potro in a pairing of U.S. Open doubles champions on the comeback court. The pair are scheduled to face Andre Begemann and Ernests Gulbis on Stadium Court 4 on Sunday.
"With the doubles, I spoke with Delpo, and he expressed desire to play and also to get back on the court, as well," Cilic said. "He's planning to play in Miami. So few matches in the doubles is always helpful."