“Idiot!” screamed Muzza when a double-fault gifted Nishikori a break point, which he took.
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“If someone had offered me the summer that I have had before Wimbledon, I probably would have signed for that”, said Murray. The first half of the set, played in normal outdoors, saw Nishikori lose serve to go 2-3 but when the scores were 3-3 and 40-30 in favor of the Japanese, rains arrived. I think that’s the most important thing I did today. “It’s a little bit different than other grand slams”, he said. “Especially the fifth set was really tough”.
Murray was annoyed because when he had complained of a sound disturbance earlier in the match, the umpire said in such instances the players would play on.
Andy Murray argues after the second stoppage of the match.
Nishikori had gone into the match having lost seven of his eight meetings with Murray, but reeled off a string of stunning winners from the baseline which his opponent was unable to counter. Williams totaled 18 aces and surged to victory after going 0 for 12 on break points in the second set.
One key factor Nishikori cited was the closing of the Ashe Stadium roof midway through the second set because of rain. That’s when Nishikori emerged at the net, as he did often as the more frequent attacker, and Murray slid a backhand aimed past him.
The world No 7 enjoys this event and played in his only Grand Slam final here two years ago, when he lost to Marin Cilic after knocking out Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.
The second set would swing back and forth, now one dictating, now the other.
Nishikori’s court coverage and dastardly drop shots repeatedly put Murray in a vise, only to have Murray escape, either with a keen victor or a Nishikori mistake.
He said later he might have been bothered for a couple of games but then had his chances.
In the decider, Nishikori went up a break in the opening game, but Murray took advantage of a triple break chance in the fourth game to tie at 2-2.
When Murray double faulted (his third in the match) to give Nishikori another break point in the 11th game of the fifth, Nishikori pounced a final time with a drop shot that Murray somehow tracked own, only to helplessly watch Nishikori’s volley victor. Then she got to 15-40 on Williams’ serve, creating two break points that Williams made vanish with three aces in a row, at 117, 109 and 122 miles per hour.
Nishikori earned his 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-1 7-5 victory by rolling with the punches and simply playing better than Murray in a weird, epic quarter-final.
Next up for Williams is a match against Karolina Pliskova on Thursday.
The 26-year-old was in doubt the right decision was made to replay the point interrupted by noise.
Nishikori lunged to block it on his forehand side, and it floated over Murray and snugly inside the lines near the corner.
USTA statement following the incident on Ashe during the match.
Murray was favourite to claim his fourth Grand Slam title in Flushing Meadows but was beaten 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-1 7-5 by Kei Nishikori in the last eight. But Murray found some big serves to hold, went 2-1 with a love game, and broke the Japanese man in the fourth game. “I didn’t start well”.
Nishikori played cleverly, mixing up his serve, moved forward when he could and hit a large number of drop shots.
Murray led 40-15 on serve but let it slip once again as Nishikori reeled off four points in a row to break the Brit once again and take a 3-2 lead.
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But the 29-year-old Murray had too much on the line to let the distractions impact his as they did.
