U.S. Open Day 13 Preview: Men’s Semis Takes Center Stage on Saturday
The schedule on Day 13 of the 2014 U.S. Open is highlighted by the semifinals, featuring two familiar faces with the top two seeds and former U.S. Open champions Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are both in action. The number 10 seed Kei Nishikori of Japan and Croatia’s Marin Cilic, the number 14 seed, are new to this grand stage, with Nishikori appearing in his first ever career Grand Slam semifinal and Cilic in his second semi.
Kicking things off at noon EST at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Djokovic and Nishikori will meet for the third time in their careers, with the head-to-head tied at one victory apiece. The last meeting between the two was in the semifinals of Basel on Nov. 5, 2011, Nishikori’s first win over a world number one. Djokovic won the first meeting in the second round at Roland Garros in 2010.
Djokovic is appearing in his eighth consecutive U.S. Open semifinal, as he is trying to advance to his fifth straight final and sixth overall (1-4). He’s only dropped one set thus far at the 2014 U.S. Open. Djokovic is appearing in his 17th major semifinal in his last 18 tournaments, and is looking to advance to his third Grand Slam final of the season and 15th of his career (7-7).
Nishikori is first Japanese man to reach the semis at the U.S. Championships since Ichiya Kumagae do so in 1918. The last Japanese semifinalist in a Grand Slam was Jiro Satoh at Wimbledon in 1933. Nishikori, who has won back-to-back five-set marathons (4:19 vs. Raonic and 4:15 vs. Wawrinka), is 6-4 against top 10 opponents this season and he is trying to defeat a third straight Top 10 for the first time in his career.
Immediately following, Federer brings a perfect 5-0 career record against Cilic, who is the first Croatian to reach the U.S. Open semis since his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, did so in 1996. Federer, who rallied from a two-set deficit on Thursday night for the ninth time in his career, second at the U.S. Open, also saved two match points. Federer is the oldest U.S. Open semifinalist since Andre Agassi at 35 reached the finals in 2005. Federer is appearing in his ninth U.S. Open semifinal, holding a 6-2 record, and 36th major overall, at 25-10, and is trying to reach his seventh U.S. Open final (5-1), his first since 2009 when he was runner-up in a lost to Juan Martin del Potro.
Cilic’s previous major semifinals appearance came at the Australian Open in 2010 where he lost to Andy Murray. Ivanisevic was the last Grand Slam title winner at Wimbledon in 2001. The 25-year-old Cilic has a 6-13 career record against top 10 opponents in majors.
Wrapping things up on Ashe today, the women’s doubles champs will be crowned as the unseeded team of Martina Hingis & Flavia Pennetta faces the fourth-seeded Russian duo of Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina.
Makarova & Vesnina have won four titles as a team, and the pair has a 4-5 record in finals. Makarova & Vesnina are through to their third career Grand Slam final, and second of the season, after the 2014 Australian Open where they lost to Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci. They were also runners-up at the WTA Finals in Istanbul in 2013. Also in 2013, Makarova & Vesnina won their first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, not dropping a set en route and defeating the defending champions, Errani & Vinci in the final.
A win for Hingis & Pennetta would propel them into the top 10 on the Road to Singapore leader board. With a combined age of 65, the team of Hingis & Pennetta would be the second oldest doubles team to win the U.S. Open, after Liezel Huber & Lisa Raymond in 2011 did so at the age of 73.
The finals of the American Collegiate Invitational will also be played Saturday on Court 5, starting with the women's final at noon. Of local interest, Jamie Loeb of Ossining, N.Y., who plays for the University of North Carolina, will meet, from the University of Virginia, Julia Elbaba from Oyster Bay, N.Y. The men's final between NCAA champion Marcos Giron of UCLA and Peter Kobelt of Ohio State will follow. The winners will get wild cards into either the main draw or qualifying of next year's U.S. Open.
Click here for the complete Day 13 schedule of action at the 2014 U.S. Open.
