The draw to another Grand Slam title, the 18th he has aspired to since winning Wimbledon in 2012, had never looked more inviting for Roger Federer when he stepped on court to play Marin Cilic late Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the United States Open.
Gone were all three members of the Big Four fraternity, the dominating axis of power that had won 36 of the last 38 men's tennis majors. Rafael Nadal, had not played the tournament. Andy Murray went out in the quarterfinals to Novak Djokovic, the No. 1 seed, who in turn was stunned Saturday by Kei Nishikori in the first semifinal on the steamy Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
All Federer had to do was defeat the 16th-ranked and 14-th seeded Cilic, whom he had never lost to, to establish himself as the heavy favorite in Monday's final against Nishikori, the first Japanese player ever to reach a slam final.
He couldn't come close.
Cilic overpowered Federer, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, and perhaps, with Nishikori, sent a message to the world that the days of utter dominance of the Big Four are no more. Equally questionable is how many more chances - at least as good as the one he appeared to have here - will Federer, 33, get to pad his record 17 slams.
'An amazing day for me,' said Cilic, a 6-foot-6 inch Croat, two inches taller than his idol and coach, Goran Ivanisevic. 'To be able to play like this, I never dreamed of. The best performance ever in my career.'
Cilic, who served a four-month suspension from the sport after testing positive for a banned substance, had too much weaponry for Federer, especially on serve, and was surprisingly steady from the backcourt. He gained confidence from losing a three-set match to Federer in Toronto last month and, he has said, from having Ivanisevic in his corner.
Instead of the anticipated Federer-Djokovic replay of the Wimbledon final, along with the multiple grand slam winners Stefan Edberg (Federer) and Boris Becker (Djokovic) coaching against each other, it will be Ivanisevic against Michael Chang, one of Nishikori's coaches.
Ivanisevic (Wimbledon) and Chang ( French Open) each won one grand slam title during their careers. The matchup will also be a contrast in size and style.
While Cilic represents the generation of taller players many believe will eventually dominate the sport, Nishikori is 5-10 and 150 pounds, a scrapper in the image of Chang, generously listed at 5-9 during his playing days.
Monday's final will be the first at the United States Open since 2009 - when Juan Martin del Potro defeated Federer - to not be won by one of the Big Four. Stan Wawrinka won the Australian Open earlier this year.6
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