Roger Federer vs. Marin Cilic: Recap, Results from US Open 2014 Men's Semifinal

No. 14 seed Marin Cilic completed a historic day of upsets at the 2014 U.S. Open, defeating No. 2 Roger Federer in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to reach his first Grand Slam final at 25 years of age.

The fans who gathered at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York were already primed for a potential upset after 10th-seeded Kei Nishikori's shocking four-set victory over No. 1 Novak Djokovic earlier on Saturday.

Indeed, there would be two massive dethronements on the hard court in Flushing Meadows, a welcome reprieve for tennis fans tired of the almost routine Grand Slam finals appearances from Federer, Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.

Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim noted that this final will be the first in several years without the two Grand Slam regulars who succumbed to lower-ranked foes in the semis:

Federer came into this match with a 5-0 record against Cilic, although their last match at the 2014 Rogers Cup—an important hard-court steppingstone toward the U.S. Open—was a highly competitive affair, with Federer just edging out the Croatian 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4. Prior to that match, Federer had dropped just one set against Cilic in his career, per ATPWorldTour.com.

That performance may have been the instructive experience and confidence boost Cilic needed for the semis. Federer seemed to be well aware this match was not going to be a walk in Central Park.

"I'm looking forward to playing Marin," Federer said prior to the contest, via Dave James of The Sydney Morning Herald. "He's a great guy. We had a tough, tough match in Toronto. I think I needed nine match points to close him out and beat him at midnight, 6-4 in the third, so we know what to expect."

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

To the surprise of many observers, Cilic won the first set rather handily, six games to three. The 25-year-old, who didn't participate in last year's U.S. Open due to a doping suspension, won 13 of 15 points on his first serve and had five aces in the set.

Tennis analyst Brad Gilbert had some advice for Federer on how to handle Cilic's serves:

Federer was overmatched playing at the net in the first set, an area of play that he dominated against the likes of Sam Groth and Gael Monfils in this tournament. Cilic won five of six net approaches in that first set, which combined with a strong serve, gave him the early advantage over Federer. However, the 17-time Grand Slam champion managed to correct this imbalance as the match went on.

The New York Times' Ben Rothenberg noted the crowd was decidedly in favor of Federer moving on to the final:

There were several instances over the course of the first two sets in which Cilic used his 6'6" frame to reach well-placed shots from Federer that looked destined to skip past the baseline. He jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second set and kept the pressure on his legendary foe, despite the latter making some excellent shots of his own along the way, per U.S. Open Tennis:

Cilic clinched the second set with a blistering ace, his 10th of the match at that point, and the stadium buzzed in anticipation of another step toward revolution and parity—well, at least until the next Grand Slam—in men's singles play.

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Cilic's commanding lead was no guarantee, as Federer was coming off a stirring come-from-behind victory over Monfils in which he found himself down two sets to an athletically superior player (Monfils' speed in that case).

Federer saved match point twice in that contest, and it's a time-honored tennis trope that there are no easy points when playing the Swiss legend, even if one is fortunate enough to have a comfortable lead.

Federer won the first game of the third set without dropping any points, and then broke Cilic in the second game to take a quick 2-0 lead in the third.

Cilic came storming back to tie the set at three games apiece. Rothenberg noted the crowd's disappointment regarding this development:

Both players serves were working quite well on the evening, with Federer managing four aces in the third set. Despite the good serving, he was broken twice in the set, the second of which gave Cilic a 4-3 lead. 

Cilic's powerful serves proved to be too much for Federer. Serving for the match, Cilic had three straight aces followed by a blistering winner. He threw his hands up into the air in exuberant celebration after the final point.

It is a stinging loss for Federer, who may have missed out on his best chance to win a record 18th Grand Slam final. He would have been the favorite against Nishikori, but the aging tennis treasure will have to regroup and reassess moving forward, although his overall legacy is still very much intact.

For Cilic, the win could be a turning point in his career. It gives him a fine shot at redemption after the doping suspension, and his powerful play should be a fine contrast to the slick stylings of Nishikori. It is not a U.S. Open final that anyone expected, but it could prove to be an entertaining change of pace for men's tennis.

All match stats courtesy of USOpen.org unless otherwise noted.