US Open Tennis 2014 Schedule: TV Coverage and Live Stream Info for Day 13
Two of the usual faces frequent the 2014 U.S. Open men's quarterfinals while two others look to reach the finals for the first time.
It won't shock anyone to see Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on a potential collision course for the crown in Flushing Meadows, yet few could have predicted Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic standing in the way of the marquee championship clash.
The four remaining men will occupy Arthur Ashe Stadium's blue hard courts on Saturday, and the two victors will face off for the Grand Slam title on Monday evening. ESPNTennis gives us a clean look at the intensifying bracket.
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"The @usopen Men's Semifinals are set! Top seed Djokovic meets Nishikori, & five-time champ Federer faces Cilic. pic.twitter.com/dL4DIgwWqD
— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) September 5, 2014"
Let's add to that with pertinent viewing information before delving into each upcoming match.
| No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 10 Kei Nishikori | 12 p.m. | CBS | Men's Semifinals |
| No. 2 Roger Federer vs. No. 14 Marin Cilic | Not before 1:30 p.m. | CBS | Men's Semifinals |
Both matches are available for live streaming at U.S. Open Live.
Men's Semifinals Preview:
No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 10 Kei Nishikori
Although Andy Murray finally presented Novak Djokovic with a challenge, the Serbian star advanced to his 24th career major semifinal.
Djokovic lost the second set in a tiebreaker after winning the opening set in the same fashion, but he then caught fire to stymie his British rival. With that, he increased his U.S. Open win tally to 50, per ESPN Stats & Info.
The established mainstay will now meet 24-year-old Kei Nishikori, who extinguished two top-five opponents en route to this bout. After fending off No. 5 Milos Raonic in five long sets, he once again needed a full slate to overcome No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals.
In order to become the first Japanese male to reach the Open semifinals since 1918, Nishikori has endured two marathon matches spanning longer than four hours. His younger legs must prevail for him to survive the biggest challenge of his career.
While he doesn't harness a powerful serve to match wits with other title contenders, he makes up for the deficiency elsewhere. The New York Times' Christopher Clarey described what makes the budding star so special.
"At 5 feet 10 inches, Nishikori is short for a modern-day tennis star. Though his serve lacks, and will always lack, the punch of taller men like Raonic, he does not lack for weapons.
His returns are among the best in the game, as are his groundstrokes, and though Raonic did his intimidating best to keep the exchanges short, pounding 35 aces, Nishikori’s racket-head control and reflexes kept many points alive where lesser technicians and athletes would have failed.
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Djokovic has made each of the last four Open finals, so he'll certainly enter Saturday the considerable favorite. The 27-year-old is also functioning at peak form in Queens; he hadn't dropped a set before Murray finally stole one.
Yet Nishikori keeps finding ways to edge out top-notch opponents, so the No. 1-ranked stud must act as if he were facing one of the usual suspects he encounters with titles at stake.
No. 2 Roger Federer vs. No. 14 Marin Cilic
Anyone who shunned the U.S. Open to watch football will shrug off Roger Federer's victory as the inevitable outcome. Yet the 17-time Grand Slam champion spent hours walking a tightrope after dropping the first two sets against Gael Monfils.
The 33-year-old remarkably rallied to erase the deficit with three straight sets. U.S. Open Tennis' Twitter account provided footage of the final match point.
Usually stoic and composed, Federer appeared perturbed by Monfils' eccentric antics on the court. That, and well, the whole being on the brink of elimination thing. He described his thought process after escaping with the victory, per the Associated Press, via ESPN.
"When I was down two match points, that's when I wasn't feeling so great anymore," Federer said. "I thought, 'This is it. This is the last point, man. Go down fighting. Don't miss an easy shot and let him have it.'"
This is where the common sports narrative dictates Federer will cruise to victory with the momentum of an improbable triumph providing the fuel. Yet that'd do a disservice to Marin Cilic, who has defeated three straight ranked opponents to reach his first major semifinal in four years.
The 25-year-old vanquished Tomas Berdych in three sets on Thursday. Once again utilizing a ferocious serve, he claimed 48-of-57 first-serve points (84 percent) with an average speed of 119 miles per hour, per USOpen.org.
Ever since returning from a doping suspension, the Croatian has wielded a deadly serve with the help of a new mentor. Sports Illustrated's Courtney Nguyen described his recent progress.
"He served a four-month ban and returned to the tour last fall ranked at No. 41. He teamed up with Goran Ivanesevic and the Croatian great re-tooled his serve to turn it into a more effective weapon. Cilic had a big serve but he didn't know how to use it effectively; however, it's all coming together here in New York.
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His serve can't flounder against Federer, who hasn't appeared in a U.S. Open final since winning his fifth straight title in 2008. Overpowering his older adversary represents his best chance at orchestrating an upset.
As for the world's second-seeded star, he can't count on his opponent to once again self-destruct. Monfils, committed 10 double faults, five in a fourth set that evened the score. Cilic is considerably less likely to throw the match away on avoidable errors.
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