World No. 1 Novak Djokovic outclassed defending champion Marin Cilic in straight sets Friday, 6-0, 6-1, 6-2, to reach the US Open final in one of the tournament's most one-sided matches.
Djokovic barely broke a sweat, losing only three games on the way to winning in 1 hour and 25 minutes and boosting his lifetime record against Cilic to 14-0.
The first set was emblematic of the gap between Djokovic and the rest of the men's tennis world. He won 6-0 in a mere 24 minutes on the back of three service breaks and a scant three unforced errors.
Djokovic was nothing short of dominant in the opening stanza, and it carried over to the match's remaining two sets.
Ninth-ranked Cilic, who began to find his form as he progressed further into the tournament, was second best in every element of Friday evening's semifinal.
The last two sets were as consequential as they were a formality. Cilic did his best to save face, mustering enough of an edge to win two games in the final set.
Often the villain, Djokovic was the crowd's hero Friday, as those in attendance were mesmerized by the Serb's dominance and the ease with which he destroyed one of the second tier's best.
With Serena Williams' semifinal loss to unranked Roberta Vinci earlier in the day, both defending champs fell Friday in Flushing Meadows, as Djokovic acknowledged minutes after the match during an on-court interview.
"Serena deserves a great round of applause for her achievements," the lanky Serb said.
Djokovic's 2015 is as dominant as his noteworthy 2011 in which he won three Slams, only falling in the French Open semifinal on his way to a 70-6 record and a No. 1 ranking.
Djokovic's 2011 season was called "one of the best achievements in all of sports" by legend Pete Sampras.
Following the semifinal win over Cilic, Djokovic is now 62-5 on the season and poised to win three Slams for a second time, with the French Open loss to Stan Wawrinka again standing as the one aberration in a stellar campaign.
Current coach Boris Becker said Djokovic's current year "may not be the best statistically, but he's beaten (Roger) Federer, he's beaten (Rafael) Nadal, he's beaten everybody that came around to challenge him in the biggest tournaments in the world."
Should Djokovic win this year's US Open, his campaign should be looked at in the same light as 2011's, cementing the Serbian as one of tennis' greats.
The world No. 1 will meet Federer in the final on Sunday.
