NEW YORK -- It was a typically blustery fortnight here. Were those winds of change?
If you had to guess the names of the two first-time Grand Slam finalists going into the US Open, you might have thrown out Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic. Chances are, you wouldn't have come up with Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic.
But that's just what happened. And that means there's going to be some serious Up or Down volatility. Here's how the men fared in the season's final Grand Slam.
No. 1 Novak Djokovic: The No. 1 seed looked oddly listless in his surprising US Open semifinal loss to Nishikori. He was in position to win his second consecutive major but couldn't back up his Wimbledon win. A tough grade for a guy who won five of six matches, but Djokovic missed a terrific opportunity.
No. 3 Roger Federer: The good news? Federer can still play, for sure. He came back on Gael Monfils after being down two sets, but Cilic dismantled him in the semifinals. It wasn't even close. At times, it was tough to watch.
No. 4 Stan Wawrinka: Ordinarily, a trip to a major quarterfinal is cause for celebration. But winning his first major back in January at the Australian Open has changed the expectation level for the 28-year-old Swiss player. He lost a nasty four-hour, five-set match to Nishikori (there's that name again) in the quarters and needs to regroup for the Davis Cup semifinals.
No. 7 Milos Raonic: Oddly enough, the 23-year-old also lost to Nishikori at the US Open -- also in a four-hour, five-set match, in the fourth round. That was the quarters. Raonic, who reached his first major semifinal at Wimbledon, has had a marvelous summer but that was a match he could have won.
No. 8 Kei Nishikori: How about Nishikori? He had a history of retirements and walkovers, but in New York he put together two marathon matches and changed the way he's viewed. Nishikori got to his first career major semifinal, the first for a Japanese man here in 96 years. And then he made the final before finally succumbing.
No. 9 Marin Cilic: A year ago, he was out of tennis serving a doping suspension. In New York, he reached his second career Grand Slam semifinal -- nearly five years after the first -- and destroyed Federer on his way to the final. He saved his best for last with a straight-sets demolition over Nishikori. With some keen coaching from Goran Ivanisevic, he could have a big 2015 season.
No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov: Like the two men above him here, Dimitrov has to be judged by his recent results. He got to the quarters at the Australia Open, the semifinals at Wimbledon, but fell short in New York, losing to Monfils in the fourth round.
No. 11 Andy Murray: The statistics are gruesome. Murray still hasn't reached a final since winning Wimbledon last year. On the other hand, he finally beat a top-10 player, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in a fourth-round match. Murray gave No. 1 seed Djokovic a go in the quarters, and has to feel good about his game going forward.