Federer, 17-time major champion who is chasing a record sixth US Open title, has a 5-0 career edge over Cilic including a four-set win in New York in 2011 and at Toronto in three tough sets last month.
Cilic, the 25-year-old 14th seed, missed last year’s US Open sitting out a controversial doping ban handed out after he tested positive for a banned stimulant contained in a supplement bought over-the-counter by one of his staff. A six-month ban was eventually reduced to four by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Federer, the champion from 2004-2008, reached his ninth US Open semifinal but first since 2011 with a dramatic 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 win over France’s Gael Monfils, saving two match points in the process. The 33-year-old Swiss lost the Wimbledon final in five sets to Djokovic in July and is playing in a 60th consecutive Grand Slam tournament.
Federer has already improved on his last two visits to New York, a quarterfinal exit to Tomas Berdych in 2012 and a dispiriting fourth-round loss to Tommy Robredo 12 months ago. A win on Saturday would put him in a seventh final but first since 2009 when he was deposed as champion by Juan Martin del Potro. World number one Djokovic, a seven-time Grand Slam title winner, faces Japan’s Kei Nishikori in Saturday’s first semifinal. It’s the Serb’s eighth consecutive US Open semifinal having shrugged off his early losses in the Masters events at Toronto and Cincinnati, understandable hangovers from his second Wimbledon win.
Djokovic, who has made the last four finals at the US Open, won an intense physical battle against old rival Andy Murray in the quarterfinals in a four-set triumph which showcased his rock-solid defensive skills, he saved eight of 12 break points he faced, as well as his stamina.
Djokovic and Nishikori have only met twice with the Serb winning in straight sets at the 2010 French Open before the Japanese star gained revenge with a semifinal triumph on the Basel hard courts one year later. The pair should have met in the semifinal of Miami Masters this year but Nishikori, having knocked out Federer, was forced to withdraw with a groin injury.
Cilic, the 25-year-old 14th seed, missed last year’s US Open sitting out a controversial doping ban handed out after he tested positive for a banned stimulant contained in a supplement bought over-the-counter by one of his staff. A six-month ban was eventually reduced to four by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Federer, the champion from 2004-2008, reached his ninth US Open semifinal but first since 2011 with a dramatic 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 win over France’s Gael Monfils, saving two match points in the process. The 33-year-old Swiss lost the Wimbledon final in five sets to Djokovic in July and is playing in a 60th consecutive Grand Slam tournament.
Federer has already improved on his last two visits to New York, a quarterfinal exit to Tomas Berdych in 2012 and a dispiriting fourth-round loss to Tommy Robredo 12 months ago. A win on Saturday would put him in a seventh final but first since 2009 when he was deposed as champion by Juan Martin del Potro. World number one Djokovic, a seven-time Grand Slam title winner, faces Japan’s Kei Nishikori in Saturday’s first semifinal. It’s the Serb’s eighth consecutive US Open semifinal having shrugged off his early losses in the Masters events at Toronto and Cincinnati, understandable hangovers from his second Wimbledon win.
Djokovic, who has made the last four finals at the US Open, won an intense physical battle against old rival Andy Murray in the quarterfinals in a four-set triumph which showcased his rock-solid defensive skills, he saved eight of 12 break points he faced, as well as his stamina.
Djokovic and Nishikori have only met twice with the Serb winning in straight sets at the 2010 French Open before the Japanese star gained revenge with a semifinal triumph on the Basel hard courts one year later. The pair should have met in the semifinal of Miami Masters this year but Nishikori, having knocked out Federer, was forced to withdraw with a groin injury.