US Open: A look at the last 5 men's singles champions

#1 Marin Cilic (2014)

Marin Cilic poses with his first Grand Slam title at the 2014 US Open

Marin Cilic arrived at the 2014 US Open after title triumphs in Zagreb and Delray Beach earlier in the season.

The Croatian earned a retirement victory over Marcos Baghdatis in the first round and a straight-set win over Ukrainian qualifier Illya Marchenko in the second round before dropping his first set of the tournament against Kevin Anderson in a four-set third round win.

A sterner test awaited Cilic in the fourth round where Gilles Simon took two sets off the Croatian before Cilic overcame the Frenchman in a five-set encounter to reach his third US Open quarter-final. There he beat Tomas Berdych in straight sets to move into his second Grand Slam semi-final and first at the US Open.

In the last-four, Cilic played 'lights out' tennis to beat five-time champion Roger Federer in straight sets en route to his first Grand Slam final. With Nishikori beating Novak Djokovic in the other semi-final, a first-time Grand Slam champion was guaranteed.

In the first Grand Slam title match between two first-time finalists since the 2005 French Open (Nadal beat Puerta), Cilic produced big serves and blistering groundstrokes to overpower his Japanese opponent in straight sets and land the biggest title of his career.

Cilic thus became the lowest seed to triumph at Flushing Meadows since 17th seed Sampras' win in 2002. In the process, Cilic became the lowest-ranked Grand Slam winner since the 44th ranked Gaston Gaudio (2004 French Open) and broke into the top 10 for the first time in his career.

About the author

Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 18 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.

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Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee