By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Marin Cilic did a few thing he had never done before at the 2014 U.S. Open.
It started in a sparsely-attended round of 16 match on Louis Armstrong Stadium on Tuesday, September 2 when Cilic broke through to beat Gilles Simon of France for the first time in four previous meetings in the round of 16 in five sets in four hours, 13 minutes. In the quarterfinals, he then won consecutive matches against Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals for the first time. In the semifinals came his first career win over Roger Federer – a straight-set throttling to move him into his first career Grand Slam tournament final. He then capped his miraculous run to his first major title with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win over Kei Nishikori to become the first man from Croatia to win the U.S. Open singles title.
He won his quarterfinal, semifinal and final-round matches in straight sets – becoming to the first man since Stefan Edberg in 1991 to sweep their last three U.S. Open matches.
Cilic, at 6 foot 6, is the tallest man to win the U.S. Open – equaling Juan Martin del Potro, also at 6 foot 6, who won the title in 2009.
The eight-inch height discrepancy between Cilic and Nishikori, 5 foot 10, was the biggest height difference among Grand Slam men’s singles finalists in the Open Era, the previous being at the 1999 U.S Open – 6’6” Todd Martin was 7 inches taller than the 5’11” Andre Agassi – and at the 1971 U.S. Open – Stan Smith (6’4”) was 7 inches taller than the 5’9” Jan Kodes.
Cilic played the U.S. Open one year after missing the event in a drug-suspension when the tested positive for a banned stimulant that he claimed when he accidently indigested a glucose tablet.
In his last U.S. Open appearance, he blew at 6-2, 5-1 lead in the 2012 quarterfinals against Andy Murray, who went on to win the title.
It marked the first straight-set US Open men’s final since 2008 when Federer defeated Murray 62 75 62.
Cilic becomes the first Croatian to win a major title since Goran Ivanisevic, his coach, won Wimbledon in 2001. Seeded No. 14, Cilic is the lowest seeded man to win the U.S. Open since No. 17 seed Pete Sampras won the 2002 U.S. Open in his career finale.
The No. 10 seeded Nishikori, who defeated No. 5 seed Milos Raonic and No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka in five sets in the fourth round and quarterfinals respectively, and No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic in four sets on a 90-degree afternoon in the semifinals, was the first Asian man to play in a Grand Slam singles final.
The final was the first US Open final between two players making their Grand Slam final debut since 1997 when Patrick Rafter defeated Greg Rusedski in what was also the last US Open final that did not feature a Top 10 player. Rafter was ranked No. 14 and Rusedski No. 20.
