With the current suspension of the ATP and WTA Tours, we are opening up our US Open vault to bring you full match videos of classic encounters through the years in New York.
Watch on YouTube: Marin Cilic vs. Roger Federer, 2014 US Open men's singles semifinals
Men's singles semifinals day started with a shock in 2014, as No. 10 seed Kei Nishikori defeated world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in four sets to reach his first Grand Slam final. Nishikori has not beaten the Serb in 14 meetings since that day, and Djokovic owns the lifetime head-to-head, 16-2.
That set the stage for the second semifinal matchup, again featuring a heavy favorite: No. 2 seed Roger Federer, with his own brand air of invincibility, against No. 14 Marin Cilic, with a puncher's chance thanks to his heavy artillery in service and on the ground.
This was Cilic's second major semifinal, after the 2010 Australian Open, though he was coming off a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon earlier that summer. He had also reached the final eight the last time he competed in New York, in 2013.
But Cilic held an 0-5 record against Federer entering this match, a tally which now stands at 1-9. But the Croat certainly made that one victory count.
Coming off a straight-set quarterfial win over No. 6 seed Tomas Berdych, Cilic powered past the Swiss in three efficient sets to complete a day that will long be remembered in US Open history.
Cilic continued his red-hot form in the battle of first-time major finalists, firing past Nishikori in straight sets to claim the 2014 US Open title. He would back that up with a semifinal run in New York the following year, and has since reached the final at Wimbledon in 2017 and the Australian Open in 2018—falling to Federer in both finals.
The complete Cilic-Federer showdown is now available to watch on the US Open YouTube channel.
