Marin Cilic denies Roger Federer, will make history of his own in the U.S. Open final
NEW YORK – A Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer U.S. Open final seemed inevitable.
A Kei Nishikori vs. Marin Cilic U.S. Open final – not exactly a hot seller when the men’s singles draw came out – is what you will get on Monday at 5 p.m.
Another precious chance for 33-year-old Federer to pull off another major title slipped away – or was blasted away, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 by a brilliant Cilic on a gloomy day at Flushing Meadows.
It was Federer’s best chance in years – a golden opportunity to win one more big one without having to defeat either Djokovic or Rafael Nadal, without even having to face a top-10 player along the way.
Cilic was having none of the fairy tale, and the history.
The 25-year-old Croat’s 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory was emphatic. It was a no-doubter.
When he stepped up to the line service line to close it out after just an hour and 45 minutes, there appeared to be no doubt creeping in even if coach Goran Ivanisevic looked a little green around the gills up in the players’ box.
Cilic blasted three aces in a row. At match point, he missed his first serve; he took Federer’s return, eased an opposed backhand down the line. And that was it.
"Just an amazing day for me. I feel amazing. To be able to play like this, I never dreamed of, and I think today was my best performance ever in my career," Cilic said on court after the match.
“I’m happy for you. Keep it up,” Federer told Cilic at the net.
"It was fairly simple. I think Marin played great. Maybe I didn't play my best day. But that's it, in a nutshell," Federer said. "I was feeling good, you know. I was feeling fine. Just credit him for playing incredible tennis."
If Federer’s legs didn’t look as spry as they did a few days ago, even his 25-year-old legs might not have stood up to what Cilic, the No. 14 seed, dealt him.
Even early on, a set and an opening break of serve down in the second, Federer was already uncharacteristically agitated, yelling at himself after more than one unforced error.
The bad weather that threatened to affect the second men’s semi-final never really materialized. In fact, the timing was perfect. It poured after the first semi-final between Nishikori and Novak Djokovic (the first, but as it turned out not the only major upset of the day), and before Federer and Cilic got underway.
Later, there were rain drops, and it appeared the rain gods might intervene to get Federer back in the locker room and give Cilic a lot of extra time to think about what he was about to do.
But a few drops were all there was – not enough to stop play. Not nearly enough to stop the Cilic express.
After the second set, Federer left the court for a comfort break. It’s almost too bad he didn’t return wearing his all-black Nike kit, the one that has fans calling him “Darth Federer” and the stadium public-address playing the appropriate theme.
Much of Federer’s magic at the U.S. Open through his career has happened at night, including his comeback win over Gaël Monfils in the quarter-finals Thursday.
But in the end, even a bit of black magic probably wouldn’t have helped.
Cilic was just too good.
How good? He won 91 total points; nearly half of them (43) were on flat-out winners.
"I’m happy grass can grow over this. I think this match gets forgotten very quickly. Conditions were fast. (Cilic) served great It was one of those matches like old-school tennis, swinging, no holding back from his side. I just couldn’t hang with him for long enough to creep some doubts into his mind," Federer said.
It will be the first time since the 2005 Australian Open that there will be a Grand Slam men’s singles final in which neither Federer, nor Djokovic, nor Nadal, nor Andy Murray will be present.
Instead, Cilic and Nishikori will make some history of their own.
The last time two first-time Grand Slam finalists met was the 2005 French Open, when Rafael Nadal played Mariano Puerta.
Only history will tell us if these two will take the Nadal route or the Puerta route (it was the Argentine’s only major final).
Certainly there will be disappointment across most of the tennis spectrum (and probably in CBS’s final U.S. Open ratings) that Cilic and Nishikori will be the ones fighting it out.
But both heartily deserved to be there.
After many fits and starts, the next-generation has finally arrived in a Grand Slam final.
As if to emphasize that moment, they made it a double.
