Committing only three unforced errors in the opening stanza, Murray looked as focused as he has all tournament, almost as in control as he was in his utter demolition of Grigor Dimitrov in the previous round.
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He has been one of the most reserved players on the circuit, and unlike many of his higher-ranked peers, Nishikori has the capability to hold his nerve in the most taxing situations. “On set point in the second set, there was a noise, and you said we keep playing when that happens”, Murray said. Murray missed that opportunity as well but capitalized on two more unforced errors as Murray took a 5-1 lead.
Williams, seeded No. 1, had held serve in 37 consecutive games over the past two weeks until Halep broke to get within 3-2 in the opening set.
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. Although Murray fought his way back at the start of the fifth set, breaking back to level at 2-2, Nishikori broke again in the following game.
The 26-year-old Nishikori has been trained by former French Open champion Michael Chang since 2014, around the time he became a force to be reckoned with. The sixth-seed converted with a volley into a wide-open court. The Japanese player struck a sweet second serve return down the line victor to move to 30-30, before a backhand into the net from Murray brought up set point.
The pendulum swung once more in the fourth set, with Murray suddenly the man making mistakes.
After the Olympics, British media began contemplating scenarios that would see Murray supplant Djokovic at No. 1.
The 2009 champion, whose career was nearly derailed by a series of wrist injuries, tackles third seeded Wawrinka, who is chasing a third semi-final place at the US Open in four years. An immediate break back loomed large as it did mid way through the second set as Nishikori took a 0-30 lead on the Brit’s serve. He dominated the game and kept the world no. 1 scrambling around the court, scoring easy points.
In the semifinal match of the US Open-2016 Swiss Stan Wawrinka will play the Japanese Kei Nishikori with a ticket to the finals. There was a lot of time after then. He took the third set 6-3, hitting twice as many muscular winners.
Murray was furious, arguing with both umpire and tournament referee, but the point, the game and, within half an hour, the set went Nishikori’s way.
After netting a backhand on the replayed point, Murray walked to the umpire and tapped her chair as he argued again.
A thwack of the racquet meant the end of life for that butterfly, which was picked up by a ball boy and, according to the USTA, “released outside the stadium.’ Bet he didn’t think ‘collecting carcasses” was in his job description! Then, trailing 6-5, and serving at love-40, Vinci was called for a foot fault on a second serve. Murray was clearly frustrated, with his annoyance most manifested when Nishikori broke Murray’s serve at 5-5 with a deft drop shot followed by a volley victor; after the ball landed out of Murray’s reach, he slammed his racquet on the net cord, as if he knew the match was about to come to an end. Mattek-Sands and Safarova downed the fifth-seeded team of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the other.
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The signs looked ominous for the 2012 champion as he dropped serve immediately at the start of the final set.
