A defending champion succumbs to the world number one in New York.
In the end, it was not to be, and defending US Open champion Marin Cilic bowed out of this year’s event in New York at the semi-final stage with a straight sets defeat to world number one Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic dropped just three games during his 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 victory, which took just 85 minutes, setting up a final meeting with Roger Federer. Speaking after his victory, the Serb gave a hint as to the possible reason for such a margin of victory:
“I need to say, Marin was carrying an injury of an ankle for the last few matches,” Djokovic said. “He was courageous enough to come out and finish today.”