Djokovic cruises to straight-sets win over Cilic in U.S. Open semis
Novak Djokovic advanced to his fourth Grand Slam final of the year with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 win in the U.S. Open semifinals against defending champion Marin Cilic.
Djokovic, the tournament's top seed, dispatched No. 9 Cilic in just one hour and 25 minutes, improving his record against the Croatian to 14-0. Djokovic won eight of 14 break point opportunities, only allowing one to Cilic.
Djokovic recorded just 13 unforced errors, compared to 37 from Cilic, who has been nursing a foot injury.
“It felt great to be able to perform as well as I did today at this stage of a tournament, again, knowing that Marin carried that injury for [the] last couple of matches,” Djokovic said. “I didn't allow that fact to distract me too much.”
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“Even though [the foot] was causing me trouble, I didn't play so well today,” Cilic said. “A lot of mishits and a lot of missed balls that I shouldn't have missed in some situations.
The victory sends Djokovic to his sixth U.S. Open final. In his five previous finals, Djokovic is 1-4, winning the title in 2011.
This year, Djokovic has won the Australian Open and Wimbledon. He lost the French Open final to Stan Wawrinka.
“I'm not happy with four finals. Win or lose on Sunday, it still has been so far a great year, best year alongside of 2011,” Djokovic said. “But obviously I'm only thinking about winning and winning that U.S. Open trophy. It's why I"m here.”
Djokovic will meet the winner of No. 5 Wawrinka and No. 2 Roger Federer in Sunday's final.
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