With the U.S. Open from Flushing, New York nearing a conclusion on both sides of the bracket, we preview the men’s semifinals.
Novak Djokovic vs Marin Cilic
The No. 1 ranked Novak Djokovic from Serbia will be going against the defending U..S Open champion Marin Cilic from Croatia.
This will be a tighter match than people expect. Djokovic is 13-0 in his career vs Cilic, but Cilic is definitely more improved now and has last year’s U.S. Open title to his credit which will being him more confidence.
Cilic is a tall player with a big, fast serve and his ground game has improved as well. But he will need much more than his serve vs Djokovic, who is one of the best at returning is not the best. Djokovic is a well rounded player who moves well anywhere and has the speed to counter any shot that’s not far off.
Add that to his much improved mentality which has brought him more titles in recent years. Djokovic is still the favorite to win the US Open which he won back in 2011. Novak’s all around game will be too much for the big Croatian.
Djokovic in 4 sets
Roger Federer vs Stan Wawrinka
This should be a terrific duel between the two Swiss standouts. The #2 seed and 17-time Grand Slam winner, Roger Federer, is looking to get back in the U.S. Open final for the first time since 2009.
Standing in the way will be his fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka, who won the French Open this year, his second majors title (also won Australian Open in 2014). Federer holds a 16-3 edge head to head vs Stan but Wawrinka beat Federer in the French Open quarterfinals this year on his way to the title.
This matchup features the two best one handed backhands in the game. We should see plenty of those. Wawrinka has improved much over the last couple of years as the results have shown. But the 34-year old Federer has been on a roll in this U.S. Open, never having lost a set thus far.
Unlike last year’s U.S. Open when Federer barely got past France’s Gael Monfils in five-sets (came back down 0-2) in the quarterfinals and had nothing left in losing to Cilic in the semifinals in 3 sets, Federer should be more fresh to go.
Wawrinka is Federer’s biggest challenger so far but we are seeing the Federer who’s almost similar to the one who dominated the tennis world back in 2004-2007 with his well rounded near flawless game. After falling short in the US Open over the last several years Federer is even more determined to win the trophy, he so was accustomed to winning back in his prime.
