I was amazed by how Marin Cilic destroyed Roger Federer in the US Open semi-final. The big Croat defeated Roger 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

I was reading an article regarding Cilic's victory over Federer and I wanted to share with you the main points from the article which I think we all can learn from him.

Last year, Marin Cilic was serving a four-month doping ban for using a banned stimulant he claimed he had unknowingly taken.

Despite being discouraged, he used his time banished from the court to dedicate himself more deeply to the game. He improved his strength and conditioning and hired his idol Goran Ivanisevic to help him harness the power of his serve.

Cilic also said that he took inspiration from Swiss Stanilas Wawrinka, who broke through for his first Grand Slam title by beating Rafael Nadal this year in the Australian Open final.

Against Federer, he has lost all five previous matches but Cilic had the belief that if he play well, he can have a chance.

Want to know how Cilic beat Federer? Here is what he said after the match, "I felt today the return was extremely good, especially on the second serve and that opened up many opportunities for me."

Cilic blasted 43 winners- 15 more than Federer- and his confident returning game allowed the Swiss to win just 71 per cent of his first serve points and only 48 per cent of his second serve points.

"I felt that today I was hitting the ball extremely clean. I have some days where I am shanking a lot of balls but, today, it was very pure from my end of the court."

Let me summarise the learning points from this match

1. Harness your energy to focus on something you really want.

2. Seek inspiration from different sources to keep you going.

3. Have strong self-belief that you can win any player.

4. Work on the RETURN OF SERVE. A lot of players tend to just work on tennis serves but neglect the return of serve. If you are able to return serve well, the point becomes 50-50 and it will be to your advantage.

5. Focus on every point in the match. Don't dwell on mistakes. Move on to the next point.

This US Open final is a unique one where we don't get to see Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer. However I think it will still be a great match to watch. Kei Nishikori vs Marin Cilic. Who do you think will win his first Grand Slam title in New York?

I will be writing my usual Grand Slam final post match analysis. Will uncover more learning points for the tennis community so that everyone can learn and play better tennis.

To your tennis success,

Joel
Founder,
www.improve-your-tennis.com

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