Clear measurements of progress are a goal for any professional player, but that’s especially true for one who has reached such heights as Marin Cilic, the winner of a maiden Grand Slam title at the 2014 US Open.

On one level, then, his exit at the hands of Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon quarter-finals is disappointing, the Croat having failed in a 13th straight meeting with the world No.1.

At the same stage in 2014, he at least extended the eventual champion to five tough sets; with Djokovic in scintillating form this time around, there was little hope of a repeat performance in 2015, Cilic beaten in straght sets after an hour and 48 minutes.

“I think Novak was very, very solid from beginning till the end. He didn't give me much to play with,” said Cilic, who hit three more winners and four additional aces but few of them at the right moment against the defending champion. “He was serving really well today, didn't have any break points to defend, which is very rare.”

But while there was no upward trend in career statistics at the All England Club, success could reasonably be measured in other ways for Cilic. With a shoulder injury delaying his start to the season until March, the 26-year-old has been playing catch-up tennis all year long.

In progressing to the quarter-finals for a second straight year – his best performance in 10 tournaments this season – Cilic proved to himself, as much as anybody, that he is again ready to challenge at the highest level.

“Overall I'm looking positively ahead,” he said. “Of course, it's a pity always to lose in the quarters. It's pretty deep in a tournament. Considering I was also playing good tennis, I wouldn't say disappointed. I was looking forward today to have a better fight.”

That’s especially true given the tough tests he survived early in the tournament, Cilic clawing his way to a 7-5 fifth set against Ricardas Berankis in the second round, then stretched even further as he took almost five hours – and a second day of play – to dismantle John Isner with a 12-10 win in their fifth set.

“I think I was playing pretty well during the tournament and I showed in a few matches that my level of the game is really on a good way,” he said. “I'm pretty satisfied with the form, with the tournament in general.”

It’s a positive mindset as Cilic thinks about his next Grand Slam challenge, with Wimbledon marking the final major before the Croat defends the US Open title he claimed in 2014 – something, he, admits, that’s already on his mind.