Cilic defeats Nishikori to win US Open title
Marin Cilic of Croatia celebrates after defeating Kei Nishikori of Japan in their men's singles final match at the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, September 8, 2014. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
Marin Cilic of Croatia celebrates after defeating Kei Nishikori of Japan in their men's singles final match at the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, September 8, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Segar (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT TENNIS)
Marin Cilic of Croatia celebrates after defeating Kei Nishikori of Japan in their men's singles final match at the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, September 8, 2014. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
Employees of Japanese instant-noodle maker Nissin Foods Holdings, which sponsors Kei Nishikori of Japan, react as they watch the final of the U.S. Open tennis tournament match between Nishikori and Marin Cilic of Croatia during a public viewing event at the company in Tokyo September 9, 2014. (REUTERS/Yuya Shino)
Marin Cilic of Croatia celebrates after defeating Kei Nishikori of Japan in their men's singles final match at the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, September 8, 2014. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
Croatia’s Marin Cilic swept past Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-3 6-3 to win the U.S. Open on Monday and reach the pinnacle of the sport one year after a doping ban kept him out of the year’s final grand slam.
The big-serving Croatian overwhelmed a weary Nishikori in one hour, 54 minutes to clinch a ruthless victory and deny his 10th-seeded opponent’s bid to become the first Asian man to win a grand slam.
With the win, 14th seed Cilic becomes the first Croatian to win a grand slam title since his coach Goran Ivanisevic celebrated a Wimbledon victory in 2001.
The final marked the first time since the 2005 Australian Open that at least one of tennis’s big three of Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer was not playing for the title.
