Nishikori, Cilic reign supreme on stunning Super Saturday

September 7, 2014 Ricky Match recaps 0

Well, that’s not exactly what the Flushing Meadows faithful could have had in mind for Super Saturday at the U.S. Open.

Nor will it be what the fans envisioned for championship Monday. Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer? Nope. Try Kei Nishikori vs. Marin Cilic.

In one of the most surprising semifinal days in history at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Nishikori and Cilic scored respective upsets of Djokovic and Federer. It all started when Nishikori got off to a fast start and held on to upset Djokovic 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3. The Japanese sensation broke his top-ranked opponent five times, including twice in the fourth set. Nishikori is through to his first major final, having previously never been in a semifinal.
Nishikori in Atlanta

“He played some great tennis,” Djokovic said of his conqueror. “I congratulate him for the effort. He was the better player today. Other than that second set, my game today was not even close to what I wanted it to be.”

“This year I have been playing really well,” Nishikori reflected. “I went to (a) final in (a) Masters once and I have been beating those top guys already. I was playing really well and really aggressive, and didn’t wait for the ball. Even (though) the opponent [was] Novak, I was playing my tennis. Everything worked well today.”

To say everything worked well for Cilic would be an understatement. The 16th-ranked Croat could no wrong in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Federer. Cilic blasted 13 aces compared to just one double-fault and held all but one of his service games while winning 39 of 45 first-serve points.
Cilic 1
“Just for the performance today from (the) first point to the last, I was absolutely playing the best tennis of my life. Considering the huge occasion I was playing in, the second time in a semifinals of a Grand Slam, it just can’t be more special. The crowd was rooting for Roger to come back. It wasn’t easy to deal with that, but I felt that my serve helped me a lot today, to get some free points to breathe a little bit easier. It was working perfectly.”
“It’s fairly simple,” Federer explained. “I think Marin played great. I think he served great when he had to. I think the first break (early in the first set) was tough. I think I was up 40-0 and then [lost] five straight points. Then (I) had one chance in the third when I was up a break and he came straight back. Those [were] my two moments really. But credit to him for just playing incredible tennis.”

Cilic is 2-5 lifetime against Nishikori. They have faced each other twice in Flushing Meadows, with Nishikori winning a five-hour marathon in 2010 before Cilic prevailed in a four-setter two years later.
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29 Comments on Nishikori, Cilic reign supreme on stunning Super Saturday

  2. I’m truly happy for both of them. I hope for a great final.

    The posts in the prediction thread, celebrating Djokovic and Federer losing far more than Cilic and Nishikori winning, however, are pathetic. There are even quotes that such a result makes Rafa smile. Do you really think he celebrates other people’s losses? He’s always said wins matter more. I’m absolutely positive he has more class than to be cheering other’s losses. I just wish his fans would, too.

    And quit with the “tennis is saved” BS. The brand of tennis Cilic played today is one often scoffed at as mundane, boring, and bad for the game in this forum. Nishikori is (usually) a slightly smaller and worse version of Djokovic. Tennis wasn’t saved. The better players simply won on the day. For ONCE I’d like to stop in and read this website with some sort of hope the Nadal fans on here (and I include myself in that group) would celebrate tennis, rather than celebrating Rafa blindly or tearing down others for their own personal glee, but each time I visit I become more and more convinced this is a fan forum, not a tennis one.

    Reply

  3. In the ‘Who will win the USO’ poll Federer and Djokovic had 83.28% of the vote although nearly twice as many voted for Federer (169) over Djokovic (80). Only 13 people voted for the ‘Other’ category. I wonder who they had in mind 🙂

    Reply

  5. I think it is going to be a tough 5 setter. Cilics serves are ominous but Kei might be able to return for a bit but I believe those five setters will finally her to him, but if cilic’s form dips for one moment Kai will make him pay. I am rooting or Kei though, I like his style of play and he seems so humble like Rafa! Looking forward to a great final!!!

    Reply

  6. That truly was a shocker on saturday, but both Cilic and Nishi just played lights out tennis. It’s not the Final that I wanted as a huge Fed fan, but it is good for tennis…the more parity the better (certainly true in the NFL!)

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    • Ricky always feels bad that he didn’t see it coming and compensates by predicting subsequent tournaments along the same unususal lines. Just think if Ricky had predicted Nishikori vs Cilic for the USO F then after all the derision from fans he turned out to be right?

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  9. Toni Nadal said some stuff about Rafa’s Madrid final:
    “We don’t deserve the victory, (Nishikori) deserves it, he played better than us the whole time,” Nadal’s uncle and coach Toni Nadal told Antenna 3 TV. “We had a lot of luck today. We didn’t really come back, he was hurt.”
    After both players held serve to start, Nishikori jumped out to a 5-1 lead with powerful groundstrokes that overwhelmed Nadal, who couldn’t find a way to counter his Japanese opponent.
    “After the early breaks (Nadal) got tense and his opponent played at a great level,” Toni Nadal said.
    – See more at: http://www.changeovertennis.com/break-points-toni-nadal-says-nishikori-deserved-madrid-win-rafa/#sthash.xFcmiY9G.dpuf

    Rafa can handle the truth. So should his fanatics! 🙂

    #JackNicholson

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