Marin Cilic and his faux-hawk in Beijing. Photo via d.yimg.com

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Marin Cilic demolished top-seed Rafael Nadal in the Beijing semifinals, winning 6-1, 6-3 in a match that was exactly as close as the score indicates.

It's tough to know what to make of Marin Cilic these last few months.  I saw him play terribly in Washington, losing his first match there to Somdev Devvarman.  Then he makes the US Open quarterfinals, absolutely crushing Andy Murray along the way.  Then he loses a very winnable home Davis Cup match the next week to Tomas Berdych.  Then he absolutely demolishes the ATP #2 on his way to the biggest final of his career.

I guess the lesson to be learned is not to be too stunned if he crashes out of Shanghai next week in the first round.

For Nadal, a loss this lopsided is pretty unheard of.  People have blown him off the court before, but for him to win only four games seems like a new low.

I'd be happy for him to prove me wrong, but right now I'm definitely thinking that Nadal's days as a dominant player on all surfaces are behind him.