Kei Nishikori hits a forehand return to Andy Murray during their quarterfinal match at the US Open on Wednesday.
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Kei Nishikori gained revenge on Andy Murray for his semi-final loss at the Olympic Games with a five-set win in the US Open quarter-finals.
Japanese star Nishikori clinched a dramatic 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 comeback triumph in a shade under four hours against the Wimbledon and Olympics victor and 2012 US Open champion.
Waiting for the 26-year-old next will be either 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro or third seed Stan Wawrinka. Murray was broken nine times over the whole match, having broken Nishikori on eight occasions.
The Briton was soon 5-4 up but Nishikori, showing nerves of steel, held and took victory when Murray blinked first in the 12th game, burying a backhand in the net.
Midway through the fourth set, Murray became irritated when the chair umpire made the players replay a point after a loud gong noise erupted from the stadium’s speaker system.
Asked about it afterwards, Murray was clearly furious but refused to blame the incident after the match. However, Nishikori would have the last laugh in this topsy-turvy, unforgettable quarterfinal classic, outlasting the favourite in five terrific sets to cause one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.
At 2-2 in the second set another series of errors cost Nishikori his serve, but he broke back immediately.
A netted forehand by Murray gave Nishikori 30-0 lead followed by service victor but Murray fought back to deuce and had the first game opportunity yet Nishikori held to level four games apiece.
Despite all the fuss, Murray eventually seemed to recover, breaking back and taking three games in a row to lead 5-4 in the fifth.
Del Potro was competing in NY for the first time since 2013, but could not defeat the two-time Grand Slam champion.
At 3-all in the second set of Murray vs. Nishikori, rain interrupted play for the second time in the match.
But the Swiss was looking the fresher as the clock ticked towards and then past 1 a.m. Halep took that set 6-4. I saw him play [against Murray]. Meanwhile, things had changed for the two men beneath the roof.
In a match filled with fantastic shotmaking and enthralling exchanges, neither player budged until Williams righted herself in the third set to emerge with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Halep on Wednesday night to get back to the semifinals at Flushing Meadows. He has won four titles, including Wimbledon and the Olympics, reached three Grand Slam finals and seven consecutive tournament finals prior to the US Open.
Her opponent today will be 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, who beat the 34-year-old American’s older sister, Venus, in the fourth round, then eliminated 18-year-old Ana Konjuh of Croatia 6-2, 6-2 to reach the first major semifinal of her career. The other women’s semifinal is No 2 Angelique Kerber against two-time runner-up Caroline Wozniacki. He remained glued to baseline, not willing to attack and Wawrinka took full advantage of it. Twice, in fact. She dropped a set for the first time in the tournament, too, pushed to the brink by Simona Halep in the quarterfinals.
The loud noise came just as Murray struck an apparent victor at break point in the third game of the fourth set at 1-1.
With the outcome never a certainty, Nishikori said: “It was tough to stay calm at the start”.
“Well, it’s going to be interesting for sure”, Wawrinka said.
“If someone had offered me the summer that I have had before Wimbledon, I probably would have signed for that”, Murray said. “I’m not at 100 percent, but I’m OK”.
But in the third, Serena broke Simona early on and wrapped up the set 6-3 to enter the semifinal.
Williams’s semifinal against Pliskova promises more fireworks.
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As good as Williams’ serve is, it’s Pliskova who leads the tour in aces in 2016.
