Cilic Clinches US Open 2014 Men's Single Title
Cilic Clinches US Open 2014 Men's Single Title
From the lows to the highs, it has been a long journey for Marin Cilic. Cilic is on his journey alright but things have just taken a turn for better. With his recent win at the men's singles in the US Open 2014, the Croatian player has shown he has what it takes to excel in the court. No one can judge a player, but if one has to, Marin certainly proved to be the merchant of success in the courts.
He went in for the gold, not a penny more, not a penny less. His adversary Nishikori had to be content with the silver. With the big names in the men's singles meeting a hasty exit, it was Cilic whose star shone bright as the match progressed to the final one.
The 25 year old player showed that past failures are no indicator of any flaws and success is easy to attain, if one is willing to work hard for it. Ball bashing aside, Marin's marvellous never-say-die spirit was really the toast of the day. He showed his talent when he outplayed and outshone 17 time Grand Slam winner Federer. While Federer has to wait for his triumph, Marin was the man of the moment at the US Open. Cilic had what others did not and he clicked because of this.
Kei Nishikori also achieved a record of sorts. The Japanese tennis ace became the first Asian to compete in a match final of this type of Grand Slam for the men's singes matches. Nishikori also beat Nos. 5,3 and 1 seeded players namely Raonic, Wawrinka and Djokovic to reach the finals. 14 seeded player Cilic however, proved to be too much for him though.
Cilic has made it to the Majors Club. But the USD 3 million payoff is probably not that big a deal as the victory itself is. Marin had his share of detractors and he is also the first Open champion to win the title following a drug suspension. Cilic tested positive for a stimulant last year and faced a 4 month suspension from play as a result of this.
But Cilic did not give up and the results are now there for everyone to see. “Everything I was working for and dreaming for came today,” Cilic was quoted by the media as saying. He also hugged his coach Goran Ivanisevic who was the last Croatian to win a major.
“He played like already he’s been playing 20 finals of Grand Slams,” Ivanesevic was quoted as having said “He was pushing, pushing, pushing – everything we talked about, he did. Nishikori didn’t have any chance.” His opponent also spoke of how “It was one of the worst matches I played today. My body is heavy still.”
Of his rapport with is coach, Cilic said 'He brought just, in the team, a very relaxed atmosphere, besides extremely huge knowledge. At the beginning when we started to work, we sat together and Goran told me that my game and my tennis has to be aggressive tennis. I can't play too much tactically, because most of the times before I was dealing too much with the tactics against players and not focusing on my game. It wasn't easy to change my perspective and to change completely my mindset. It took even five, six months of the tournaments to be able to sink that into me and that I know on the court that's the right way for me to play.
