Bidding for his third title in Tokyo in four years, Nishikori traded blows with his rival and when cracks began to appear in Cilic’s game he took full advantage.
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Earlier, French Open champion Stan Wawrinka overpowered Austin Krajicek 6-3 6-4 to advance to the last four.
The Japanese world No. 6 will face the victor of a later match between Australian wild-child Nick Kyrgios and Frenchman Benoit Paire in Saturday’s semis.
“When I drove past all the fans on the buggy after practice this morning, I thought: “This is what it must feel like to be a lion in a zoo”, joked Nishikori, who is regularly mobbed on his return to Japan. I have confidence in my shots and I’m playing well.
“He had a lot of aces, but if you can win the important points then you can break his serve”.
It was hard to separate the two competitors in the second set, with just one break point created in nine games, but Nishikori was unable to convert it and games continued to go with serve. “The turning point was at the end of the second set when Kei broke and won the second set”. During the first set a break by Cilic made the difference.
“I can still play better, that’s for sure, but the most important thing is to win”.
“A one-hour match, it was the ideal day for me today”.
Having levelled thanks to a crisp backhand, the second seed pushed on in the decider and closed out the quarter-final with an ace of his own, winning 3-6 7-5 6-3.
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“Muller is the kind of player who is never easy”, Wawrinka said of his semifinal opponent, who he has beaten twice already this year.
