US Open Tennis 2014: Latest Predictions for Nishikori vs. Cilic Men's Final

It certainly isn't the match tennis fans expected, but the 2014 U.S. Open men's final provides a massive stage for two emerging stars.

Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori knocked off Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, respectively, which is no easy task. While both semifinals had a final feel, the two players will have to take on each other for the U.S. Open title.

Nishikori had never made it to a Grand Slam semifinal before the U.S. Open. Cilic will be playing in his first final on Monday. Whoever wins will lay claim to the first Grand Slam of their young career. In fact, the odds were extremely slim that either would make the final, as tennis analyst Brad Gilbert notes:

Suffice it to say, this is a huge match for both players. And after brilliant matches against two of the biggest names in the sport, both have proven they are ready for the moment.

Before the U.S. Open men's final gets underway, here's a look at how each player got here and a full match breakdown and prediction.

U.S. Open Men's Final Prediction

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Leading up to the U.S. Open, it was clear that the two top players were Federer and Djokovic. But after massive upsets, fans are left with a matchup that could see one player's career hit a turning point.

One of the players to set the stage for both Nishikori and Cilic was Stanislas Wawrinka. While he was unable to get past Nishikori in the quarterfinals after a five-set thriller, the No. 3 player in the world won the Australian Open earlier this year.

Cilic referenced the Swiss player's triumph, per Let's Talk Tennis:

The Croatian player has been resurgent since returning from a nine-month suspension, but reaching a Grand Slam certainly wasn't expected. His doping suspension is now behind him, but another tough test awaits him.

Prior to the U.S. Open, Cilic had reached just one major semifinal during his career. But after shocking the tennis world, Cilic spoke about competing with Federer and the crowd on the big stage, per Piers Newbery of the BBC:

"

It's just an amazing day for me. To be able to play like this I never dreamed of and I think today was my best performance ever in my career.

[...]

Considering also that even when I was a set up and break up, the crowd was rooting for Roger to come back. It wasn't easy to deal with that, but I felt that my serve helped me a lot today, to get some free points to breathe a little bit easier. It was working perfectly.

"

While Nishikori doesn't have quite the same following as Federer, he has become a crowd favorite with his huge upsets. The Japanese player has also outlasted three consecutive top-five players in a total of 14 sets across those matches.

As for the fans in Japan, unborn babies are already being named after him, per Hiroko Tabuchi of The New York Times. Though his win came as a surprise to most, Federer offered his take on Nishikori, via Douglas Robson of USA Today.

"He was destroying Rafa in the finals of Madrid," Federer said. "He's shown what he can do, and that's why with Kei I'm not surprised, really."

Heading into the massive showdown for both young players, Nishikori has the edge in head-to-head matchups. Not only is the overall record is 5-2 in favor of Nishikori, he also holds two victories over Cilic this season alone.

Cilic does not have a victory over the Japanese player since 2012, but that also came in the third round of the U.S. Open. But with both players holding a win over each other at Flushing Meadows, recent history proves more about the matchup.

After upsetting three notable players during the run to the final, Nishikori's recent play will earn him his first-ever Grand Slam title. As the legend of Nishikori grows, the top-10 player will also have a career-defining moment Monday night.

Prediction: Nishikori defeats Cilic, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4

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