Marin Cilic wins U.S. Open for first Slam title

NEW YORK – After the frustration and the waiting, after the nerves and last year's bitterness, it suddenly looked easy for Marin Cilic.

See ball. Hit ball. See opportunity. Seize opportunity.

He never has had a bigger one on a tennis court, and the 6-6 Cilic did not flinch: walking tall into Arthur Ashe Stadium and playing taller as he swept to the U.S. Open title with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 rout of Kei Nishikori of Japan.

"Everything I was working for and dreaming came today," said Cilic, a 25-year-old Croatian. "And I feel for all those other players who are working hard, this is a big sign and big hope that if you are working hard things are going to pay off."

A year ago, Cilic missed the U.S. Open because he was serving a suspension after testing positive for a banned stimulant. Though he faced a two-year ban, he appealed, arguing that he had unintentionally ingested the substance in a glucose tablet, and succeeded in having the suspension lifted after four months.

He returned to the tour in October and rose in the rankings. He arrived in New York seeded 14th and with two titles already to his credit in 2014. But it would have taken quite a soothsayer to predict that from that platform, he would claim the Open trophy.

"I think the stars crossed," Cilic said in a postmatch interview on CBS, mixing the metaphor but still making an essential point, because a star has certainly made a big difference for Cilic.

The 24-year-old Nishikori defeated three of the top five seeds. He beat No. 5 Milos Raonic and No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in five sets in back-to-back matches totaling more than 8½ hours. Then he upset No. 1 Novak Djokovic in four sets in the semis to become the first man from Asia to reach a Grand Slam singles final.

"I think I showed my potential that I can beat anybody now," he said.

But the fatigue showed against Cilic.

"Played too much tennis on the court these two weeks," Nishikori said. "Couldn't fight one more match."

Nishikori couldn't control points with his groundstrokes as he had in the past three matches. He wasn't able to do much against the 14th-seeded Cilic's big serve.

This was likely the last Monday final in history at the U.S. Open. The men's final is scheduled to move back to its traditional Sunday slot next year. In 2016, if construction proceeds on schedule, Ashe Stadium finally will be equipped with a retractable roof.