NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic is into his sixth U.S. Open final, and he knows this much: He’ll be well-rested for his match against a Swiss opponent.
In the most lopsided men’s semifinal at the tournament in the Open era, the top-ranked Serb routed defending champ Marin Cilic 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 in 85 minutes Friday.
“I came out with a good focus, good intensity, and obviously executed the game plan,” Djokovic said.
He is 14-0 against Cilic, who had twisted his right ankle in the fourth round and played a five-set quarterfinal Tuesday.
“If it would be some other tournament, I would probably pull out and not get myself in the position to aggravate it much more,” Cilic said. “But also today, even though it was causing me trouble, I didn’t play so well — a lot of mishits and a lot of missed balls that I shouldn’t have missed in some situations.”
It can be tricky to face a hobbled opponent, but Djokovic managed the situation to near-perfection. He had only 16 winners, playing clean tennis while Cilic’s mistakes piled up.
Cilic got just 45 percent of his first serves in and lost 78 percent of his second-serve points.
The ninth-seeded Cilic has had an uneven season since his surprise win at Flushing Meadows last year, but he had played well in returning to the site of his only major title. That all changed against the nine-time Grand Slam champion. Cilic won only 11 points in the first set.
Djokovic reached the championship match at all four majors in the same year for the first time in his career.
In the second semi, Roger Federer faced countryman Stan Wawrinka. Federer lost to Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, and Wawrinka beat Djokovic in the French Open final.
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