He got to the final
with 81 aces – 13 of them outfoxing Federer on Saturday – and put another 17
past Nishikori, three of them in a row to hold to love in the sixth game of the
second set, a body blow which pretty much bled the remnants of resistance from
him. The championship has its third new champion in six years, after Juan
Martin del Potro in 2009 and Murray two years ago. The final was the first between debutants in
a decider since Pat Rafter beat Greg Rusedski 17 years ago.
Just last month,
Nishikori underwent foot surgery, which sidelined him for the better part of
the summer hard-court circuit. He didn’t even pick up a racquet and start
hitting balls again until days before the start of this event, stating publicly
that he’d be surprised if he advanced beyond the first round here. He must be
stupefied now. The 24-year-old has displayed an incredible combination of
talent and toughness in becoming the first Japanese player—man or woman—ever to
reach a Grand Slam singles final. So a major final without the game’s Big
Three—Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic is over heralding a new
champion.
It is great for
Cilic, who a year ago, was forced to sit out for the year-end Grand Slam while
serving a four-month doping ban from the ITF after mistakenly taking a
prohibited supplement. It remains to be
seen whether this would be a springboard for more major titles in his career?
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
9th Sept. 2014.
