Marin Cilic of Croatia celebrates after defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland in their semi-final match at the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, September 6, 2014.
Marin Cilic of Croatia celebrates after defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland in their semi-final match at the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, September 6, 2014. Reuters

The Arthur Ashe Stadium was filled with cheers from fans urging Roger Federer to win yet another title. The day felt as if everyone witnessing the match knew that they were watching history in the making.

All the big names were either not playing or had already been eliminated from the tournament. Rafael Nadal, Federer's most prominent opponent did not take part in the tournament due to an injury while Andy Murray went out in the quarter finals. Kei Nishikori shocked Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. Achieving victory seemed to be a piece of cake for the Frenchman. In addition, the fact remains that Federer has never lost to Marin Cilic.

The crowd believed, even after an adverse score line of 6-3 and 6-4, that Federer would come through. Everyone expected him to make another comeback just like he did in the quarterfinals.

Instead, Federer lost the opportunity to become a favourite to win a record 18th Grand Slam title after a shocking defeat in straight sets. Cilic played the more attacking display of tennis and pressured the master with big serves. The match went on for 1 hour and 45 minutes as Cilic unleashed the "best performance of his career".

Cilic was overwhelmed and jubilant at the end of the match. He seemed to have put a lid over his emotions as he spoke with authority and poise in addressing the public. "An amazing day for me. I feel amazing. To be able to play like this, I never dreamed [I could]. I think today was my best performance of my career," Cilic told the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd. He also said that it would be great to play Nishikori in the finals. After many years, people are going to see two new faces in a Grand Slam final.

Federer appreciated his opponent for playing an impressive game and rued the fact that he was not able to bring out his best on the field. "Marin played great. I maybe didn't catch my best day, but I think that was pretty much it in a nutshell," he said in an interview, as reported by The New York Times.