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Seventh seed Cilic meets Nishikori in 2014 US Open final rematch
It was no great surprise to hear Novak Djokovic talking at great length about his rivalry with Roger Federer, days before the two were heavily favoured to square off for the 47th time. Not once was the Serbian No. 6 seed asked of a potential quarter-final match-up with unheralded Aussie John Millman.

It wasn’t part of the script, in most people’s eyes. On Monday night, however, in humid conditions, Millman, a 29-year-old ranked No. 55 in the ATP Rankings, pulled off by far the biggest win of his career to stun the five-time US Open champion and reach his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final.

Djokovic and Millman have played just once before, in the round of 32 at this year’s Fever-Tree Championships at the Queen’s Club in June. Djokovic dropped just three games in that outing and went on to reach the final.

Both have enjoyed a seismic boost in confidence since. The Serbian claimed his fourth Wimbledon title, more than two years after his most recent Grand Slam title in Paris. Millman is coming off the back of his huge upset of No. 2 seed Federer in the fourth round. Would he be able to rebound in time to pull off the improbable again when he meets two-time champion, Djokovic, on Wednesday?

“Yeah, why not? Again, I'll have to improve a lot on the last time I played him. He's an incredible player,” Millman said of Djokovic. “I think he's in some really good form right now, too. Yeah, but why not? I think it's a disservice to who I am if I go out there and don't have that belief.”

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It is that same resolute attitude and commitment to the grind that has helped the Aussie rebound from two shoulder surgeries in 2013 and groin surgery in 2016, having been ranked as low as No. 235 in the ATP Rankings just 12 months ago.

“I love his intensity. He reminds me of David Ferrer and those other guys that I admire a lot when I see them, when I see how they train, the passion they have for the game,” Federer said after the loss.
“He has options now, especially where it's a bit slower, to return in and return back. I think against Novak, he just has to bring it again, try to worry Novak, hope for another hot day.”

For Djokovic, it will be familiar territory in his 11th trip to a US Open quarter-final. Federer was a perfect 40-0 against opponents outside the Top 50 at the US Open heading into his match with Millman; Djokovic holds a 28-0 record.

The No. 6 seed was rarely troubled in a dominant dismissal of Portuguese fourth-round debutant Joao Sousa. It came on the back of a straight-sets routing of former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet.

“I actually had several situations like this throughout my Grand Slam career where I was tested earlier,” Djokovic said of his two four-set matches to begin his campaign. “As I got deeper into the tournament, I felt like I started to swing through the ball better, just started to raise the level of tennis… It's not easy to play in these kind of conditions. At the same time, you can't do anything but try to be tough and survive, find a way to win.”

Cilic, Nishikori Primed For US Open Final Rematch

After narrowly escaping against #NextGenATP Aussie Alex De Minaur from two sets down in the third round, No. 7 seed Marin Cilic is playing with a renewed sense of freedom. It was a match in which the 2014 US Open champion said he got a bit lucky.

Against No.10 seed David Goffin, there was no such luck needed. Cilic saw off the Belgian in straight sets to book a rematch of his 2014 final in Flushing Meadows with Japanese former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori.

“What I've seen, he's playing well,” Cilic said. “It's going to be our fourth meeting so far in the US Open. We had our tough battles. I was a little bit luckier on the finals when we played. It was my day that day.”

Nishikori accounted for No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev’s conqueror, Philipp Kohlschreiber, to reach the quarter-finals. He leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series 8-6 against Cilic, including their only encounter this year in the quarter-finals in Monte-Carlo.

Seeded 21st, Nishikori missed last year’s US Open due to a right wrist injury but has made inroads since his return in 2018. He has reached at least the fourth round in the three Grand Slams he has contested this season. Victory over Cilic would pit him into just his third semi-final at a major, his first since the 2016 US Open.

“Hopefully I can come back to that stage,” Nishikori said. “It's always special playing with Cilic. Reminds me of that final. He's a great player. We grew up together… kind of same age. I know him from the juniors.

“Especially these [last] couple of years, he's been playing aggressive and coming in a lot. He can beat anybody now, [such a] good player.”

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