Following Novak Djokovic's surprise defeat to Kei Nishikori in the first semifinal, the cognoscenti reached a quick consensus: Roger Federer was going to win this tournament. His task was straightforward: beat Marin Cilic in the semifinals and stop Nishikori in the final. He seemed destined to secure a sixth US Open title. Federer owned a 5-0 career head to head record over Cilic. The title seemed to be within his grasp.
But Cilic proceeded to play the best match of his career. From start to finish he was devastatingly potent. At 1-2 in the first set, Federer served at 40-0, missed a forehand that he directed inside-in, and then lost the next four points. That was a critical lapse. Cilic won 87% of his first serve points in that set. At 5-3, he unhesitatingly held at love. He broke once in the second set and served that one out at 5-4, holding at 15 for a two sets to love lead.
Cilic was broken once in the third set but was now unassailable. He won 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. In the three crucial set-ending games, Cilic allowed Federer only one point. The 6-foot-6 inch Croatian is frequently a fragile competitor, prone to nerves in tight matches, likely to fold when it counts the most. Not so in this showdown with Federer. He was magnificent. It was strikingly reminiscent of Marat Safin's masterpiece in taking apart Pete Sampras in the 2000 US Open final. As was the case with Sampras in that instance, Federer was in many ways a spectator at his own tennis match; he never really had a chance.
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