Will it be Marin Cilic or Kei Nishikori who lift the US Open on Tuesday morning? Source: Getty Images
What: US Open Men’s Final
Who: Kei Nishikori v Marin Cilic
Where: Arthur Ashe Stadium, Queens, New York City
When: Tuesday September 9, 7am (AEST)
Road to the final
Nishikori began his tournament at Flushing Meadows with a comfortable straight sets win over hometown hopeful Wayne Odesnik before being handed a free pass to the third round thanks to the retirement of Spain’s Pablo Andujar. It was here the Japanese right-hander met his first seeded opposition in Leonardo Mayer and he rose to the occasion, breezing past the Argentinian in straight sets. An impressive win over the big-serving Milos Raonic in five sets reminded many of the 24-year-old’s credentials and when he saw off Australia Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka in an epic, there were real signs the world number 10 could go all the way. If there were any doubts about whether Nishikori could win a major, they were dispelled when he saw off world number one Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals to book his spot in the decider.
His Croatian opponent made it through a similarly tough draw to reach the final. After making the second round with relative ease due to an injury to Marcos Baghdatis, Cilic overcame some first-set struggles to cruise past Illya Marchenko. A stern third-round challenge against South Africa’s Kevin Anderson saw Cilic drop his first set of the tournament before winning in four. He was then taken all the way to five sets by French veteran Gilles Simon and it was after this match that the world number 16 really came into his own. He impressively saw off Tomas Berdych in straight sets before winning arguably the biggest match of his career in similar fashion, easing past the mighty Roger Federer to seal his passage into the final grand slam final of the year.
Match Notes
Going into the tournament, it would’ve taken a brave person to predict these two men would face off in the showpiece. Neither of them has ever made a grand slam final and it will be interesting to see how they deal with the pressure of the occasion. Interestingly, it will be the first grand slam final since the 2005 Australian Open that will not involve Federer, Djokovic or Rafael Nadal. The pair have met seven times in the past with Nishikori enjoying a 5-2 record over Cilic. Two of those wins came this year, with the first on the hard court in Brisbane before he bested the Croatian on clay in Barcelona. Nishikori’s fourth-round win over Raonic showcased his ability to deal with big serves, something that should hold him in good stead against Cilic. The man from Matsue is behind only Djokovic and Federer for break points won throughout this year’s tournament. However, the power of the Croatian serve should not be underestimated. He is ranked third for aces with 81 for the tournament and has won 83 per cent of his first serve points and if he has a good serving day, Nishikori will have to be at his best to repel him.
Who will win and why?
Patrick Sexton, City Journal co-sport editor: Nishikori is one of the cleanest hitters of the ball on the ATP Tour and has consistently shown at Flushing Meadows he can match it with the best of them. The surprising ease with which he beat Djokovic was impressive and his ability to stay calm in the big moments is what sets him apart from Cilic. If he can negate the serve of the Croatian and force him into extended rallies, he should win the battle of the baseline and clinch his maiden grand slam title.
Dejan Kalinic, Omnisport Writer/Editor: Cilic’s improved, bigger serve means his first grand slam final is seemingly on his racquet. Goran Ivanisevic has clearly had an impact as coach, but another performance like the one against Federer cannot be expected. Cilic is prone to patches of errors and inconsistency but avoided these against Federer in his best-ever display and surprisingly won the big moments. Nishikori’s pure ball-striking means he will hold the advantage in longer points, and Cilic must maintain the aggression that has got him this far. If Cilic can do that and win enough free points on his serve, he should be able to put pressure on when returning and edge the supremely talented Nishikori in four or five sets.
