There was as much chance of Novak Djokovic following Serena Williams out of the 2015 US Open before the final as there was of Nick Kyrgios reappearing here in Stan Wawrinka’s box alongside Donna Vekic, but his one-sided destruction of Marin Cilic was embarrassing.
He was in such devastating form that the defending champion, hampered by an ankle injury, at one point looked like going into total meltdown, bagelled and winning a mere 11 points in the first set, before winning his first game nearly 25 minutes into the match. Half an hour later he had not added to his tally.
When they left Arthur Ashe Stadium an hour and 25 minutes after they had arrived, the Croat who might go down as the most lightly regarded champion here in the Open era looked up at the scoreboard to read the awful truth: Djokovic had beaten him 6-0, 6-1, 6-2. At least he was getting better. He has taken just 24 games off Djokovic in 14 straight losses. That’s dominance.
Djokovic pointed out, charitably, “Marin was carrying an injury for the last couple of matches and he was courageous enough to come out and finish the match today. It’s not easy when you know your opponent is not 100%, but I had good intensity.”
It was not a pretty sight, and sad for a very talented player. But a rolled ankled in the second set of his fourth-round win over Jeremy Chardy still troubled him, restricting his movement and messing with his balance and power; against the world No 1, those were insurmountable handicaps.
The Croat was bereft of ideas and inspiration in the face of Djokovic’s accuracy off the ground, pinned to the back of the court like a butterfly on a wheel. The one weapon that might have at least kept Cilic in the fight, his strong right arm, could not save him, although he clicked the speedometer at 131 miles an hour once and added four aces to his tournament best of 115.
Cilic got his first break point after an hour and nine minutes in the fourth game of the third set – and he converted, to the amazement of those present, perhaps even himself. It did briefly drag relieve his torture, but he was still one game shy of escaping the dubious distinction of the largest losing margin ever in a semi-final here. The fourth seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov hit that all-time low in 2001, when a 20-year-old Lleyton Hewitt conceded just four games against the experienced Russian on the way to winning the title.
When Cilic hit his last forehand long, there was a palpable sense of relief, on both sides of the net and around the stadium.
Djokovic has for the first time reached ever major final in one year. But for Wawrinka he would be reaching for the prize that has eluded Williams, the calendar slam. He’s won one and lost four finals here. This might be the year he adds a second.
