US Open: Cilic shocks Federer in straight sets to reach first Grand Slam final

17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer suffered shock straight sets defeat to 14th seed Marin Cilic in the US Open semifinal at Flushing Meadows.

The Croat powered through 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to beat Federer and move into his first Grand Slam final. He will now face Japan's Kei Nishikori, who earlier upset world number one Novak Djokovic.

It will be the first Grand Slam final without Federer, Djokovic or Rafael Nadal since the 2005 Australian Open, The BBC reported.

Cilic said that it is just an amazing day for him, adding that to be able to play like this he never dreamed of and he thinks that it was his best performance ever in his career.

Cilic also said that considering that even when he was a set up and break up, the crowd was rooting for Federer to come back. He added that it wasn't easy to deal with that, but he felt that his serve helped him a lot, to get some free points to breathe a little bit easier.

Cilic was playing in only his second major semifinal and had a 0-5 record against Federer, yet the 6ft 6in Croat dominated his illustrious opponent.

Federer, who had been hoping to win an 18th Grand Slam title, said that he really felt like he could win this tournament, and added that it is obviously not going to happen and that's why there is always disappointment.

The Swiss said that he just thinks conditions were fast, Cilic served great and it was one of those matches like old school tennis. He said that it was just like full swing from all sides -forehand, backhand, serve, return- and there was no holding back from the Croat.

Federer also said that he thinks when a match is like this one can actually move on very quickly.