US Open - The men's final

First topic message reminder :

For the first time in almost 10 years, there will be no Djoko, Rafa or Rog in a GS final. We'll have a new winner. Yes, but whom ? (to be ultra grammatical).
Sitting on the fence, it would be easy to make out a good case for either Cilic or Nishikori. Will Cilic serve, or play, as well as he did against Fed? Will Nishikori last the pace after a series of long matches? With this being new ground for both of them, it's difficult to imagine just how they will cope with the pressure of a GS final.
I'm guessing that one of them may play poorly, although from a spectator point of view I'm hoping it's a cracking final. My prediction ? Nishikori in four sets.

Nishikori is serving at 58%.

2% higher than his tournament average, LF!!

4 aces. Nishikori's window of fighting back is slowly dwindling.

TSJ... 5-2. This is very one-sided, IMO.

Good grief this could be a final set bagel.

Nishikori's legs are lead weights right now.

I think you're all being really harsh on Nishikori, it's more of a good Cilic performance than a bad Nishikori one for me. Nishikori hasn't been great, but it's been some good some bad and Cilic taking away his time.

"Kei Kei Kei chant the crowd".

You might want to rethink that one David Law...

Nishikori gets one break back on a spate of Cilic errors.

Henman Bill wrote:I think you're all being really harsh on Nishikori, it's more of a good Cilic performance than a bad Nishikori one for me. Nishikori hasn't been great, but it's been some good some bad and Cilic taking away his time.

I can't think of one thing he's done well up until this point. He's looked leggy, hasn't served well and has made errors off both wings from the start of the match.

@HB.. 80+ MPH first serves from Nishikori. Is it fatigue or a tactic? That missed OH smash and the second set is done, and Cilic serves first. This should be over rather quickly, IMO.

Last straight sets champion was Federer d Murray in 2008. Last least games won is Hewitt (6) v Federer in 2004.

Do you think he's standing too far back to return the Cilic serves?

The Special Juan wrote:Do you think he's standing too far back to return the Cilic serves?

To handle 120+ mph bombs from Cilic.

laverfan wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:Do you think he's standing too far back to return the Cilic serves?

To handle 120+ mph bombs from Cilic.

Murray or Djokovic would be standing a bit closer I reckon.  Still, he's 4/5 inches shorter than them so he has to stand back to compensate for that I suppose.  However, Ferrer makes a good job of it and he's shorter than Kei!!

The Special Juan wrote:

laverfan wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:Do you think he's standing too far back to return the Cilic serves?

To handle 120+ mph bombs from Cilic.

Murray or Djokovic would be standing a bit closer I reckon.  Still, he's 4/5 inches shorter than them so he has to stand back to compensate for that I suppose.  However, Ferrer makes a good job of it and he's shorter than Kei!!

But Ferrer has a special racquet with a longer handle, IIRC. Lydian would know the exact details.

2 BPs for Cilic to put this to bed.

Yeah this is over. Cilic has hit a very purple patch.

Much better FHs from Nishikori.

Tenner on Kei?

The crowd seem unusually annoying; they're constantly shouting out as the players throw the ball up to serve.

2 BPs for Nishikori. Good window for him, but saved. Good to see Nishikori try and fight back.

The Special Juan wrote:Tenner on Kei?

Cilic brain freeze is also needed.

Russell Fuller is coughing in the commentary box. Pat Cash - "You're not the only one who's choking".

Is Cilic going to pull a final choke job here during his last service game or is Nishikori so beat up he'll drop his own serve?

laverfan wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:Tenner on Kei?

Cilic brain freeze is also needed.

Ah we almost had it. Kei chucked 2 of them away

Nishikori seems down and the shoulders are sagging. The efforts of past matches taking their toll.

This final is the quality you'd expect of two ATP 500 level players...

Worst final since USO 2004.

Yes! You know, normally you would support the player that's behind but in this case I feel that Cilic has just played so well, mentally so strong, going for his shots - I always lean towards someone winning with winners rather than waiting for errors - , complete game as well lobs and drops when needed. Also when the crowd cheered him missing his first serve on double break point and he put in a strong second serve that wasn't returned and held. That was cool.

just forget about the Ivanisevic influence when serving for a slam title...for anyone that rememebrs Ivan servinng for Wim 01 --yikes that was tense

This has never felt like a major final, maybe because there's no big 4 or maybe because it's not been great.

SUPER DUPER CHOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well done Marin He was so much better on the day. I don't think he'll kick on from this immediately but he'll come good again in 2016 perhaps. As for Kei... He was never really in this was he? A superb tournament nonetheless but will he ever come this far again?

Congrats to Cilic (his fans) and Ivanisevic and a champion.

Nishikori, onwards and upwards. Good tourney.

I really enjoyed this match. It's great to see a player go out, and on the most important moment of his life, play some of his best tennis and be mentally strong. While he will never have the most varied game, I thought he did OK on the day on that aspect, e.g. throwing in the occassional lob, drop shot and so on. His first serve and second serve were really strong. And it's great to see a player go out and win the match, rather than wait for the other player to lose it. He hit more Ws than UEs I believe.

Henman Bill wrote:I really enjoyed this match. It's great to see a player go out, and on the most important moment of his life, play some of his best tennis and be mentally strong. While he will never have the most varied game, I thought he did OK on the day on that aspect, e.g. throwing in the occassional lob, drop shot and so on. His first serve and second serve were really strong. And it's great to see a player go out and win the match, rather than wait for the other player to lose it. He hit more Ws than UEs I believe.

Yes - 38 to 27. Cilic played a really great match today.

I just wonder if the faster surface this year might be a factor in the surprise finalists.

The top players are all vulnerable to being out-hit on a good day. Even Federer has a few players than can out do him with agression and power. The big 4 are all superb defensively but the speed increase this year stopped them showing their defensive skills because they couldn't reach the ball. It was a winner instead of scooped back to the opposite baseline.

I don't think we should hold Cilic's easy draw against him much. Winning 9 consecutive sets against Berdych, Federer and Nishikori in such dominating fashion is really impressive. The way he played towards the end of the tournament for me it's easy to imagine he could have perhaps beaten anyone, including Nadal, Djokovic or Murray, had he only had the chance. To me, it's as impressive a slam as others in recent years or any of the others this year.

Cilic doesn't look to me to have the innate talent of some other top players, he is more very solid. Fundamentally, his soft touch and handling of the racket doesn't inspire confidence in the same way it would with some players. I think this is his very peak. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't win another slam. I'm not convinced that his game is good enough to win on the slower surfaces of the other three slams. I do think he will take some beating defending his crown here next year however.

Nishikori is going to have more pressure to deal with here from now on. Starting from today, there is a different expectation level on him both at home and globally. If he can manage that, he can do well in the rankings and maybe manage a slam in his career, let's see.

Guess I'm not going to get more conversation here with the time it is in the UK, in which case look forward to your thoughts tomorrow and night all.

I would be curious to know the answer to "shortest slam final since...." if anyone heard it on TV. I think the return to 30-40 minute sets as standard rather than 50-60 is another sign of a reversal in the trends that we saw in past years like no volleying and long rallies and slow courts/balls.

Cilic hits the ball so hard it's scary, I'm not a fan of his style of tennis, but credit when credit's due- he deserved to win every match he played.
His serve is huge, but what makes him stand out against Raonic for example is the consistent power and accuracy from the baseline.

Sadly I couldn't watch the match, but congratulations to Cilic and his fans. A terrific tournament he's had, some of his play has been totally dominant. Going to be a fascinating few months ahead now...

He is too good. 2 best players at USO Marin Cilic and Gilles (5 close sets) Simon

Kei will clearly win a slam barring injuries within 2 years

Congrats Cilic, new champion. Who will be next I wonder?

Nishikori can win AO 2015, CJ.

Cilic always had the talent a better version of Del Po but never the heart of Del Po, its so refreshing to see him conquer his own mental demons and display a great exhibition of tennis.

I wish to see Cilic and Del Po as No.1 and No.2 in the upcoming years

Cilic you rock bro.

Congrats Cilic, well done; great tourney for him.  I thought Nishi would blunt his firepower today but scoreline suggests it was not even close.  In a way I am glad about it being one-sided, because I was unable to watch the match, so not unhappy that it was not a five set thriller

This year finally started showing some cracks at the top; next year could be very exciting indeed.

That said, while it is exciting to see new faces finally winning, I do not think I would want to have a long period where random players keep winning tournaments - I do hope some new champions will arise who will be somewhat comparable to the current crop in terms of their performance.

I believe next year we are finally back to a Sunday final.  I am glad about that; Monday is such an odd day for a slam final, plus it is always hard for me to catch the match.  I do not think I have seen any of the Monday finals these last few years (well, I have seen some of them delayed, and have caught tail ends of a couple).

summerblues wrote:I believe next year we are finally back to a Sunday final.  I am glad about that; Monday is such an odd day for a slam final, plus it is always hard for me to catch the match.  I do not think I have seen any of the Monday finals these last few years (well, I have seen some of them delayed, and have caught tail ends of a couple).

Same here, by the time I could return from office the match got over , such a shame I really wanted to see the match, but will wait for highlights.

It's a shame for Nishikori, but it's a miracle his body took him this far. A guy who broke down with all sorts of problems fighting through back to back five sets, beating Djokovic was always going to have a hard time getting his body to dance one more time.

kingraf wrote:It's a shame for Nishikori, but it's a miracle his body took him this far. A guy who broke down with all sorts of problems fighting through back to back five sets, beating Djokovic was always going to have a hard time getting his body to dance one more time.

+1 very true, Kei's effort was unbelievable but to be frank Cilic's game was on all together new level, a level similar to Del Po of 2009 and rightly deserved the title, yea its a shame for Kei to lose, but thats the crudeness of Tennis only one could win.