Kei Nishikori reached his first Grand Slam semi-final. Not surprising.
Kei Nishikori won back-to-back five setters. Very surprising.
On Wednesday morning, Nishikori came from two sets to one down to defeat Milos Raonic, 4-6 7-6(4) 6-7(6) 7-5 6-4 in four hours and 19 minutes. Nishikori followed that up with another huge win in the quarter-finals over Stan Wawrinka, 3-6 7-5 7-6(7) 6-7(5) 6-4 in four hours and 15 minutes. Nishikori v Wawrinka was a brilliant contest and the end of third set, the only bit I got to watch, was fabulous. Both hit stunning backhands to save set points before Stan hit two unforced errors to lose the set. I think that most people (including me) thought that Nishikori would not be able to back up his win over Raonic based on his fragility. He was forced out of Canada and Cincy with a foot injury and took a MTO in both of his last two matches. If he somehow manages to stop picking up so many injuries he is, in my opinion, a future world number one.
Nishikori will play Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, who needed four long set to get past Andy Murray, 7-6(1) 6-7(1) 6-2 6-4. This match happened whilst I was asleep so I relied solely on Twitter to understand what happened:
1) It was long.
2) People wondered if it would ever end.
3) It featured symmetrical tiebreaks.
4) Murray went through a stage where he was hitting his forehand beautifully.
5) Murray’s body seemed to let him down again towards the end.
It was a solid win for Djokovic, who has extinguished the memories of his losses to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tommy Robredo in Canada and Cincy. That feels so long ago.
Djokovic and Nishikori are tied at 1-1 in their H2H; Djokovic won their first ever match at Roland Garros in 2010, 6-1 6-4 6-4. In their most recent match, which was three years ago, Nishikori came from a set down to win, 2-6 7-6(4) 6-0. The pair were due to meet in the semi-finals in Miami before Nishikori was forced to pull out with an injury. Going in Nishikori’s favour is that he gets two days off. I really enjoy watching Nishikori play and his backhand is just gorgeous. I think, fit and healthy, he will win at least a set. Djokovic for the win though.
Prediction: Djokovic d. Nishikori in 4 sets
Moo's Tennis Blog 
At least, I was able to catch up with some tennis 🙂 I watched the first three sets of Nishikori vs Stan and I was impressed. The tiebreak was excellent, both playing stunning. Unfortunately, it was Stan in the second with a lose game and in the third with two unforced errors to gift it. Tbh never seen Kei playing before, except of the final vs. Nadal. So really impressed with how much pace he can generate especially with his backhand. Officially a fan now and routing for him (which is not good as I know that Djokovic will be a tough test). I’d love to see him going past Djokovic but I think he could only do that if it’s four sets or less. I also loved Micheal Chang btw being so passionate.
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I’m a fan of Nishikori, too. I really hope him to be the first young gun who win gland slams. Of course it will be so tough, but he is able to make it happen if he stays healthy through the match and plays like final game against Nadal in Madrid.
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