MARIN CILIC

Croatian Marin Cilic' performance in winning the U.S. Open tennis tournament on Monday was extraordinary. The final was the first for a Grand Slam tournament since January 2005 (the Australian Open final between Leyton Hewitt and Marat Safin) which did not include one or more of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray. And he was the lowest ranked seed (14) to win a major since Pete Sampras (17) did it in 2002. But what was really impressive was that he won the last three rounds - over Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer, and Kei Nishikori respectively, all seeded higher then him - without dropping a set. All three were simply blown away.

A year ago Cilic was serving out the last months of a ban for taking a forbidden substance. That punishment seems to have been the grit in the oyster for a remarkable comeback. He hired Goran Ivanisevic, a former Wimbledon champion, as his coach. Goran told him to go for his shots, and boy, did he do so. I thought Federer had good chances to win his semi-final, but he was simply demolished.

The big question now is whether Cilic is a one-major wonder (a la Juan Martin del Potro) or whether he will go on to win many more. Professionals often say that the most difficult major to win is not the first, but the second. Whatever the case, Cilic has certainly shaken up the world of men's tennis.

Walter Blotscher