Novak Djokovic of Serbia
Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits the ball to Feliciano Lopez of Spain during their quarterfinal match at the U.S. Open Championships tennis tournament in New York, September 8, 2015. Reuters/Carlo Allegri

The number one in the world, Novak Djokovic of Serbia meets the defending champion, Marin Cilic in the semifinals of the 2015 US Open on Friday (Saturday in Australia). Cilic is winless in 13 tries against Djokovic, who has beaten the Croatian four times in past Grand Slam tournaments.

Djokovic is wary of Cilic’s confidence and aggressiveness especially as he went all the way to the US Open title last year winning against Kei Nishikori of Japan, 6-3 6-3 6-3 in the championship round.

“I'm sure he's not going to start coming to the net after every ball, but I'm sure he's gonna try to be aggressive, going to try to take his chances. That's how he won last year US Open. I watched him play. He played great. Best tennis of his life.” Djokovic, who won the US Open in 2011, fell to Nishikori last year in four sets, 4-6 6-7 (4) 3-6 in the semifinal round, said about Cilic.

Cilic knows he’s going to go through a tough road to repeat as a Grand Slam champion in New York saying that playing Djokovic in the semis would be the “toughest match-up” for him in this tournament.

“I haven't beaten him ever in my career. I had close matches last few years, but I haven't found the right formula to be able to win a match,” Cilic said.

Cilic’s best performance against Djokovic came in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Wimbledon Championships when he pushed the Serbian to five sets but lost 6-1 3-6 6-7 (4) 6-2 6-2.

Catch the 2015 US Open semifinals Cilic vs. Djokovic live streaming via ESPN or the US Open website.

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