Nishikori downs Cilic to reach US Open semi-finals
Kei Nishikori beat Marin Cilic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-4 to reach the US Open semi-finals.
NEW YORK (AFP) - Kei Nishikori reached the US Open semi-finals on Wednesday, holding on for a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-4 victory over Marin Cilic -- the man who beat him in the 2014 final.
Japan s Nishikori, who missed last year s US Open after a season-ending wrist injury, joined compatriot Naomi Osaka in reaching the semis -- the first time that a Japanese man and woman have reached the last four in the same Grand Slam.
Nishikori, the 21st seed, will take on either 13-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic or 55th-ranked Australian John Millman for a place in the final.
Nishikori stunned then-world number one Djokovic in the semi-finals in 2014 to become the first man from an Asian country to reach the championship match of a major.
But he hasn t returned to a Grand Slam final since, falling in the US Open semis in 2016.
Ranked as high as fourth in the world in 2015, Nishikori made a cautious return to competition early this year, finally finding enough confidence and consistency to put together a quarter-final run at Wimbledon.
Against Cilic he labored for 4 hours and 8 minutes.
"It was really tough, especially in the end I was up 3-2 and he came back -- I don t know why but it s always a battle with Marin," said Nishikori, who stretched his career record over the seventh-seeded Croatian to 9-6.
Nishikori appeared to be in control of the fifth set with a break for a 3-1 lead.
He had two game points for a 5-2 lead but a double fault and a backhand wide opened the door for Cilic, who stormed through, shouting "Got it!" when he secured the break to narrow the gap to 4-3.
But Nishikori broke Cilic in the final game, capturing the match with a blistering service return.
"I try to fight every point," said Nishikori, who boasts an impressive record in decisive sets.
"Especially in the end I really focus on every point," he said but added: "I wish I don t go to five sets every time."
The night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium featured Wimbledon champion Djokovic, the sixth seed, taking on the 55th-ranked Australian Millman who stunned 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in the fourth round.
The Serbian star has continued to shine since ending a 54-week title drought with his 13th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, warming up for the US Open with a victory at the Cincinnati Masters.
Millman, a 29-year-old whose career has been blighted by a string of injuries and three surgeries, wasn t the man he was expecting to see across the net at this stage.
But the unheralded player from Down Under took full advantage of Federer s off night to become the first Australian quarter-finalist in New York since Lleyton Hewitt in 2006.
If he could get past Djokovic, Millman would become the first Aussie man to reach a Slam semi-final since Hewitt at the 2005 US Open.
The odds aren t good. Djokovic is playing in his 11th US Open quarter-final in his last 11 appearances.
The two-time champion is 10-0 in last-eight matches -- in which he has never before faced a player ranked outside of the top 25.
In his only prior clash with Millman, Djokovic gave up just three games in a victory at Queen s Club this year.
"I ll have to improve a lot on the last time I played him," Millman admitted. "But why not?"
