Croatian Marin Cilic Dominates Kei Nishikori, Bags 2014 US Open Title And First Grand Slam Title Of Career [PHOTOS]

For a change, a tennis Grand Slam champion is not named Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal. This time, it was an unlikely Croatian Marin Cilic who bagged the 2014 US Open winning in easy straight sets victory, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 over Kei Nishikori of Japan.

Both contenders were appearing in their first-ever Grand Slam final and unfortunately only one had to go home with the much-coveted tennis hardware.

It was Cilic who took advantage early breaking the Japanese once in the first set on the way to a 6-3 opener which lasted just 33 minutes. The 26-year-old Croat continued his aggression firing seven aces apiece in the next two sets and Nishikori just couldn’t handle the pressure or the powerful serves as Cilic took it, 6-3, 6-3 and grabbed the 2014 US Open title.

In the post-match interview via the tournament’s official website, Cilic was more

“I mean, seems completely unreal to be called Grand Slam champion. I was dreaming about this all my life, and suddenly last four, five days everything started to change. And with my tennis especially,” A still-shocked Cilic admitted in the press conference.

“I started to play absolutely unbelievable starting with the fifth set with Simon. After that I had unbelievable run of the matches against these top guys. And what it means to me, it means everything. It's just a huge accomplishment and huge moment for myself and for my team and for everybody around me who was with me all these years supporting me, believing in me and never giving up. So this is just the peak of the world.”

Cilic defeated Gilles Simon of France in the fourth round in a five-set classic, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in what now appears as his toughest test in this 2014 US Open title run.

Surprisingly, he was dominant in the next three matches on the way to the championship winning in straight sets against the higher seeds and favoured opponents. In the quarterfinals, he defeated Tomas Berdych, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4); in the semifinals, he easily dispatched Roger Federer, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and then finished the final in just under two hours.

Marin Cilic is not as popular as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic but the Croatian just served a fair warning to the top contenders: behind a powerful serve, a reliable groundstroke and now a Grand Slam title, he is one of the top contenders in tennis in the coming years.

View the slideshow for more images from the Cilic-Nishikori final of the 2014 US Open.