U.S. Open 2014 scores: Kei Nishikori upsets Novak Djokovic, Marin Cilic beats Roger Federer

The men’s singles final is set at the 2014 U.S. Open and neither No. 1 Novak Djokovic or No. 2 Roger Federer are a part of it. It looked like the two top seeds might square off for the title, but both came up just short, losing in the semifinals. Instead, the final will pit Kei Nishikori against Marin Cilic.

Nishikori became the first Japanese man to reach a Grand Slam final with a thrilling four-set victory against Djokovic. Nishikori, the tournament’s No. 10 seed, took the matchup at 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3.

Djokovic wasn’t playing the best tennis of his career by any stretch of the imagination, but the 27-year-old was trying to reach his fifth consecutive U.S. Open final, rendering this a major upset.

Nishikori took the first set cleanly, but Djokovic responded with very aggressive play to overwhelm him in the second set. The third set was much tighter than the first as a result, but Nishikori kept a cool head and eventually started to take advantage of Djokovic’s aggressive play. The third set even saw Nishikori up 5-3, but Djokovic brought things back and forced the tiebreaker.

Nishikori dominated said tiebreaker, and then opened the fourth set by breaking Djokovic. They both held serve from there, and Nishikori finished the match with a flourish, breaking Djokovic to close out the match. Djokovic was looking tired mid-way through the third set, which is surprising given that Nishikori is the one who has played strenuous, lengthy matches against No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka and No. 5 seed Milos Raonic.

There’s video of Nishikori’s historic match point below, courtesy of the U.S. Open Twitter account:

Cilic, the No. 14 seed, joined Nishikori in the final with a straight-sets victory against Federer. Cilic notched a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory despite committing more unforced errors. He did an excellent job of holding serve, winning 87 percent of his first-serve points. He also won four break points while Federer won just one.

The berth in the final is the first Grand Slam final appearance for the 25-year-old. His previous best was a semifinal loss in the 2010 Australian Open. The straight-sets loss is an unfamiliar result for Federer, especially at the U.S. Open.

Cilic and Nishikori will play for the title on Monday with the winner claiming the first Grand Slam title of his career.

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