Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic will collide in the 2014 U.S. Open Tennis final on Monday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Nishikori and Cilic scored big upsets in their previous matches to set up an unexpected final showdown at Flushing Meadows.

Nishikori advanced to the penultimate stage of the tournament with a huge 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over top-seeded Novak Djokovic, who was a huge favorite to win this year's title.

The 10th-seeded Nishikori, who also scored an upset against fifth-seeded Milos Raonic and third-seeded Stan Wawrinka on his way to the semfinals, will be the first Asian player to play in a men's final of a Grand Slam event.

Cilic, on the other hand, arranged a title showdown against Nishikori after scoring a huge 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over second-seeded Roger Federer -- a win that ended the Swiss star's hope of winning his 18th Grand Slam title.

Cilic dominated right from the opening set and did not allow Federer to get into his rhythm en route to a surprising straight-set win against the five-time U.S. Open champion.

The 25-year-old Cilic became the first player from Croatia to advance to a Grand Slam final of a singles event since his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, won the 2001 Wimbledon title.

Cilic, who will be playing in his first Grand Slam final, is expecting a tactical match against Nishikori on Monday.

"Kei is extremely well -- I mean, he hits the ball extremely well from the back of the court," Cilic said via the tournament's website on Saturday. "I think I'm going to have to just focus on my game to break that a little bit of rhythm and to try to serve well. I think it's gonna be a good sort of tactical matchup for the final."

Nishikori will be a favorite heading into the match after winning in five of their first seven meetings. The Japanese tennis ace also won in their last two matches -- during the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open in April and quarterfinals of the Brisbane International earlier this year.

Schedule, How to Watch

The Nishikori-Cilic match will start at 5 p.m. EST. It will be shown on ESPN and Tennis Channel, and through online live stream via U.S. Open Live, Tennis Channel Live, WatchESPN and CBSSports.

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