‘Roger Federer at US Open’

Marin Cilic will compete at this week’s Madrid Masters. The Croat has been playing on clay in Spain for a couple of weeks, regaining his vibes on the slowest surface and lifting a trophy at the Girona Challenger.

Marin is eager to extend his career after two knee surgeries and seek the top-20 return. In his pre-tournament interview, Marin described his career-best victory. The Croat has beaten almost 40 top-10 rivals, but one triumph stands at the top. 

Cilic claimed his lone Major title at the 2014 US Open. He ousted the five-time champion Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in an hour and 45 minutes in the semi-final, producing his career-best performance and reaching the final.

💪 peak Cilic 💪@cilic_marin reached new heights in his 2014 SF win over Federer. Rewatch from first serve to match point ➡️ https://t.co/A5lTLyKc8t pic.twitter.com/JzuNirxb8u

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) July 23, 2020

Marin collected 17 points more than Roger and delivered flawless tennis that left the crowd’s favorite without an answer. The Croat served at 56% but draw the most from that. He barely lost a point behind the first serve and defended the second nicely.

Thus, Marin faced only two break points and got broken once. Federer felt the pressure and cracked under it at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Swiss gave away 38% of the points in his games and got broken four times from eight chances provided to his opponent.

Both players hit more winners than unforced errors. However, Marin tamed his strokes more efficiently and drew many forced errors from the legend to make a difference. Cilic outplayed Federer in the shortest and most advanced rallies. 

The Croat made a push on the return in the fourth game of the encounter. He erased a 40-0 deficit and secured a break when the Swiss netted a forehand. Marin missed a backhand in the fourth game and faced a break point. 

He saved…