Kei Nishikori survived a big test against former US Open champion Marin Cilic to continue his title defence. The world No.6 was two games away from defeat before staging a comeback to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Carrying the expectations of his home fans, Nishikori started the match convincingly as he applied pressure onto Cilic’s serve. In the third game of the match the defending champion had three chances to break the Croat but failed to convert any of them. The failure was costly for Nishikori. A couple games later Cilic broke to lead 4-2 as he cruised to take the first set, silencing the Japanese crowd. Nerves were a factor for Nishikori as he only managed to get 45% of his first serves in during the opening set.
During the early stages of the second set Nishikori had another chance to break the Cilic serve, but was yet again unable to as both players remained solid in their service games. The set was heading towards a tie-break until an unexpected falter in Cilic’s game. The standard of the Croat’s forehand declined as it allowed Nishikori to get a set point. Then another forehand error by Cilic resulted in Nishikori taking the set to keep his title hopes alive.
During the early stages of the final set Nishikori called for a medical time out for some treatment on his right shoulder. The shoulder pain didn’t appear to be too problematic for the second seed as he broke Cilic straight after the time out to lead 3-1. Despite some outstanding serving from Cilic, he was unable to find a solution to his opponents consistent serve as Naishikori took the match with his fourth ace.
Despite the vital win, the match statistics were more impressive for Cilic. Nishikori’s four aces were overshadowed by Cilic’s impressive 23. The winner count of the second seed was also second to Cilic, at 20 compared to 37.
Wawrinka marches on
Proceeding Nishikori’s marathon win, top seed Stan Wawrinka enjoyed a smoother route in to the last four against American qualifier Austin Krajicek.
The French Open champion faced two break points throughout the match, saving both of them. During the match, which lasted exactly an hour, Wawrinka produced 6 aces and won 88% of his first serves, as he took the match 6-3, 6-4. Following his quick win, the Swiss talked about his confidence.
“I’m quite happy to win in an hour on a nice sunny day. My game was better today, I was much more relaxed. I have confidence in my shots and I’m playing well”. Wawrinka said.
In the last four the top seed will play Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller. Muller stunned French third seed Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-4. Throughout the match the world No.43 produced 8 aces and dropped just six points on his first serve.
