Japan’s Kei Nishikori overcame second seed Andy Murray for a gruelling 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-1 7-5 see-saw victory on Wednesday to reach the U.S. Open semi-finals, reports Reuters.
Nishikori, who became the first Asian man to reach a grand slam final when he finished runner-up here in 2014, broke the Scotsman in the 11th game of the fifth set with a brilliant reflex volley and served out to complete the triumph.
The upset ended a stellar run by Murray that had taken him to seven successive finals, including victories at Wimbledon, the Rio Olympics, Queen’s Club and Rome.
“It was too exciting on the court, but I tried to stay calm,” Nishikori said in an on-court interview. “It was really tough to stay calm. There were many ups and downs.
“In the end it was great tennis, so very happy.”
Nishikori will meet either double grand slam winner Stan Wawrinka or 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in the last four at Flushing Meadows.
