Britain's Kyle Edmund said he is very proud of himself for making the semi-finals of the Australian Open and now has the taste of being at the top.
The 23-year-old was looking to join Andy Murray and John Lloyd as the only British male singles finalists at Melbourne Park in the Open era, but Cilic was a match too far for Edmund, who crashed out to a 6-2 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 defeat.
It was a memorable tournament for the Yorkshireman who claimed the scalps of 11th seed Kevin Anderson in the first round and world No 3 Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals.
Edmund, meanwhile, heads home as a top-30 player for the first time and having proved to himself and the tennis world that he can challenge for the biggest titles.
"Well, obviously just disappointed I lost, but it's been a really good couple of weeks for me," he said. "Just getting the experience of going deep in a Slam for the first time and all the stuff that comes with it. Playing a couple matches on Rod Laver.
"Obviously disappointed right now, but can be very happy with the way I've gone about things. Played a lot of tough matches. Won some tough matches and beat good players.
"This type of tournament just gives you the bug to want more. Once you get a taste, it's like, yeah, I want more of this. I'll definitely go away from the whole week feeling positive."
Cilic predicted big things for Edmund after his win, while the world No 49, who played a total of 24 sets over six matches during the course of the tournament, admitted enjoying testing himself in the best of five set matches, which he said was "a true test of quality and grit".
"You know, it's a battle It really always feels better when you win these matches at the Grand Slams. It's a test of so many things like endurance, mental, physical," he added. "Best-of-five sets should always stay in the men's game."