Kei Nishikori survived a big performance from Sam Querrey to win the semi-final match-up 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. The Japanese World No. 7 survived the loss of the first set against another former winner, ensuring that he was not broken in the deciding two sets to progress to the meeting with teenager Taylor Fritz.
If someone had said that going into this fixture that Kei Nishikori only led the head-to-head in this encounter by a narrow 4-3 margin, many people would have been surprised especially given the ranking disparity between the two (Nishikori at no.7 and Querrey at no.58). Granted, Nishikori had won the last three meetings prior to this evening’s match but only one of his previous victories over Querrey had been in straight sets. A close match was not exactly expected but that is what the crowd in Memphis were able to enjoy.
Querrey started the match ripping everything in sight, going big early in points before Nishikori could get him on the back foot, and it paid dividends. The American broke for a three-one lead, and had chances to take a double break advantage when he earned love-forty at with Nishikori serving at two-four. The top seed saved all three break points,and in fact won nine straight points on his serve at that stage but to no avail, as Querrey served the set out to thirty.
Nishikori simply waited for the lull in Querrey’s form to present itself, and it came early in the second. Querrey had fought hard to get to thirty against the Nishikori serve but once thwarted, his first serve percentage dropped, Nishikori ripped returns and, under increasing pressure, Querrey double-faulted going for a necessarily big second serve. Querrey was supremely unlucky in the next game. At fifteen thirty, he hit a big forehand that was called out by the chair umpire. Replays showed that the ball was more than 90% on the line. Nishikori had retrieved the ball, but it had landed short and with Querrey advancing looked the favourite to earn two break back points. Instead, Nishikori hit an ace on the replayed point and at thirty-all the same thing happened, this time the line judge calling a ball out of the chair umpire’s near side line that clipped the edge. Aided by two replayed points, Nishikori would go on to hold comfortably. The set went with serve the rest of the way, with Nishikori holding to love to level affairs.
Querrey started the final set with a thirty hold, Nishikori followed with a hold to fifteen. Again Querrey’s serve crumbled and Nishikori took full advantage, breaking the American to deuce even after missing a big second serve return and parrying a first serve into the tramlines. Querrey’s head visibly dropped, whilst the top seed looked increasingly in his element. Querrey started to make errors and his ground-strokes lacked the bite that had caused Nishikori such discomfort in the first set. Nishikori moved around with typical grace, mopping up the many short balls that Querrey was now offering. Querrey managed one break point to return serve in the third, but in the end it was Nishikori who secured the double-break, ending the American’s fading hopes by breaking in the final game.
Nishikori will now face highly-touted young American Taylor Fritz in the teenager’s first ATP Final. In his previous three finals, Nishikori defeated Kevin Anderson (2015), Ivo Karlovic (2014), and Feliciano Lopez (2013). Nishikori has lost in the main draw in Memphis only once, to Marcos Baghdatis in 2009. He lost Jan Hajek in the qualifying event in 2011.
Nishikori: “It was a tough spot for me at first, he was hitting really good shots, deep and flat. Towards the end of the match I tried to be a little more focused and play aggressive“.
