It may have not been the final we were all anticipating, but we have one of the riveting finals of my generation that’ll be contested between two new finalists- Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori.
Nishikori v Cilic: US Open Final Preview
Nishikori and Cilic both come into this slam with a lot of deliberating factors which both count as flaws and positives going into their first major. At 5ft 10 Nishikori gives away a lot of height discrepancy to the taller Marin at 6ft 6, but the road on which Nishikori’s been has been that of a struggle, aside from being the face of a Cup of Noodles in Japan; a lucrative deal which has set him up for life. At just fourteen, Special Kei traveled away from his parents from Shimane in Japan to focus on becoming a professional tennis player and joined the IMG academy run by Nick Bollettieri, where he’d eventually meet his long time coach, Dante Bottini. Although fourteen years of age is relatively old for a tennis player to be fully committed to a tennis career path, it’s still a huge decision at 14 to decide to leave everyone behind; it’s worth adding that Kei didn’t know a word of English when he joined the IMG academy. Now at 24 and based in Florida his mental prowess over the last twelve months has seen vast improvements in his game, big enough strides that winning a Grand Slam title was never totally out of the question; it was his body that was letting him down time and time again.
The one telling stat which advocates how well Kei Nishikori has improved on the mental side, which could very well play a factor in the final, is his renewed inner belief regarding beating Top 10 opponents. From 2008 to 2013 he’d mustered up nine wins over Top 10 opponents with his best years against Top 10 being an accumulated three wins in 2011 and 2012. His record in 2014? Six wins, including wins over Roger Federer in Miami and the three wins v Milos Raonic, Stanislas Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic, which was the first time he’d won two matches against Top 10 opponents in a row at a major. The prominence of mental strength he’s shown this week under the watching eye of Michael Chang has been a revelation to our sport, who has taken Kei to two titles in Memphis and Barcelona whilst now taking Kei to a Grand Slam final in just his fourth slam working with him. Quite the CV he’s modified over the last nine months of their coalition.
What strengths and weaknesses does Kei bring to the fore in this Grand slam clash? His strength is his court coverage; Kei has perhaps the best agility and the most aesthetically pleasing strokes in the game. He’s always been known to track a lot of balls down and to almost shrink the court but the best part of Kei’s game, which has gone hand in hand with his improvements, is his ability to turn defense into attack and make the most of his weapons on a tennis court. Kei’s tools to success against Marin will be the backhand down the line playing to the Cilic forehand, which can be jittery under pressure. That’ll be the play which Kei has to utilize throughout the big moments and will be a barometer of just how well he’s feeling on how confident he feels in his backhand throughout.
Now for Cilic, since his reduced drug ban for consuming a bad substance from behind a pharmaceutical counter he hasn’t looked back. He finished 2013 with twenty-six wins to twelve losses; this year he’s managed forty wins, one of the highest on the tour, while receiving losses, which is an incredible achievement and shows consistency from the big Croatian. There was a period at the beginning of the year where he’d won fourteen of fifteen matches, which included a title win in Zagreb and Delray Beach, while also beating Andy Murray and Jo Wilfried Tsonga in Rotterdam, on his way to another final, losing out to Tomas Berdych. This year, although oozing consistency, has also seen close shaves v Novak Djokovic at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Cilic, a good junior who won the French Open title nearly a decade ago has been a late bloomer to this level of consistency and has finally unlocked the key for his best slam yet, equalling what he achieved in Australia 2010.
How can Cilic take his first Grand Slam crown? Well first off it’s compelling to see Marin this way after a period where he’d said many coaches and people in the tennis world were telling him what to do with his game and it almost made him forget his own tennis identity due to the difference of opinion. Marin to this day says he shouldn’t have listened, but Bob Brett, a well respected coach, and now Goran Ivanisevic, his childhood hero, have reaped the benefits of such a formidable team over the last year and a half.
For Cilic to beat Nishikori he needs to play one strike tennis, which streamlines from a good first serve. His matches in Rotterdam v Murray and win over Berdych was some of the best serving I’ve seen from anyone, particularly the serve down the tee. Berdych just couldn’t read it and I think that may be an area which will be intriguing to say the least, as Nishikori, one of the game’s best returners, will be playing against the strength of Cilic, which is his first serve. Cilic’s one strike tennis has to include a good first serve followed by a competent forehand which plays to Kei’s improved forehand and plays into the space finishing with the volley into the backhand side when the court is open. Cilic has to use every dimension of the court because competing from the back of the court against someone like the Japanese star just plays into his strengths.
I’m going to go for Nishikori in 5 sets. I think it’ll be a really good final with two going into the experience of the unknown-it’ll be interesting to see which handles the moment the best.
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