Novak Djokovic has ended Marin Cilic’s 13-match winning streak at the US Open during one of the most one-sided Grand Slam semi-final matches in the modern era. The world number 1 had all the answers against the below-par defending champion as he cruised to an annihilating 6-0,6-1,6-2, victory after just 85 minutes.
Shortly before the encounter Cilic’s coach, Goran Ivanisevic, described the world number 1 as a shark and the similarities between the two was evident during his dominating victory.
“Novak Djokovic is like a shark – when he smells blood, it’s over”. Ivanisevic said.
Unfortunately for Cilic, Djokovic smelled blood from the first point of the match. The Serbian was quick to establish himself with the help of some impressive defensive play as he applied pressure immediately in Cilic’s first service game. The quick start from Djokovic forced his rival to produce a duo of unforced errors as he raced to three break point chances. Cilic saved two of them before giving away the third with a forehand shot which sailed outside of the court as Djokovic claimed the early break on his way to a a 3-0 lead. The early onslaught by the Serbian was starting to overwhelm Cilic after just 15 minutes on the court. A costly double fault from the eighth-seed enabled Djokovic to break once again. Cilic’s form was a mile away from the level which took him to the title 12 months ago as Djokovic took the first set to love with a powerful forehand down the line to force his opponent to return the ball out. Djokovic is the first player to bagel Cilic in a Grand Slam since Andy Murray at the 2009 US Open. The top seed was particularly effective in the first set against Cilic’s below-par second serve. Due to some outstanding attacking play from Djokovic, Cilic could only win 15% (2/13) of his second serves.
The one-sidedness started to subside at the start of the second set. In the eighth game of the match Cilic saved two break points before finally getting a game on the scoreboard. The end of the Djokovic winning game streak was greeted with a big cheer from the crowd who was encouraging the defending champion to make the match more competitive. The level-pegging was short lived as yet more costly unforced errors came off of Cilic’s racket to allow Djokovic to move 3-1 ahead. Reminiscent of the first set, Djokovic remained dominant on the court, producing some outstanding shots, as he took a two sets lead with a cross court forehand.
Since the 2014 US Open final, Cilic has played 7 top ten players and has lost to them all. This could of been a mental factor for him during the match. Nevertheless, there was no time for reflection for the Croat as Djokovic broke for the sixth time in the match at the start of the third set. Cilic regained some dignity in his next service game by holding for only the second time in the match. He then capitalized on this by finally breaking the consistent Djokovic serve to bring himself back into the set. The momentum change was, however minimal as the top seed responded immediately in the next game by breaking once again as he bullied Cilic’s temperamental serve. Yet again the world number 9 was unable to find a solution as Djokovic eased his way to match point. He took the match after his rival produced his 37th unforced error.
Throughout the match Djokovic won 68% of the points played (83/122). In additional he also produced 3 aces, 16 winners and won 76% of his first service points.
Following his comprehensive victory, the world number 1 praised his opponent for playing the match after being plagued with an injury problem. During Cilic’s quarter-final match against Jeremy Chardy he twisted his ankle.
“He was courageous enough to come out today and finish the match”. Djokovic said.
“It is not easy for me coming out and knowing that your opponent is injured”. He added.
Djokovic will now play in his 18th Grand Slam final, 6th US Open. Despite reaching the final on five previous occasions, he has only claimed the title once at the 2011 US Open where he beat Rafael Nadal in four sets.
