Kei Nishikori had to bow to Marin Cilic in the 2014 US Open final (6-3 6-3 6-3). The Japanese sensation was determined to avenge that match in the quarter-final this year at the Flushing Meadows, and he managed to achieve that after beating the Croatian in 5 sets.

The match

At the very beginning, Kei looked doomed to lose in straight sets to Marin after he was trailing 2-6 2-4.

However, the harsh heat has been playing strange games on the players’ minds, and all of a sudden, Cilic was broken to love in the 7th game (3-4) to lose 6 consecutive games. Therefore, instead of being 2 sets down, Nishikori found himself leading 2-6 6-4 2-0.

Kei went on winning the 3rd set at the breaker, and Cilic replied winning the 4th sets.

In the decider, Nishikori broke Cilic again in the 4th game (3-1) before consolidating the lead (4-1). After a tough hold in the 6th game (4-2), Marin broke Nishikori to make things even later (4-4). Eventually, it was Kei to win the last sprint before clinching the contest 2-6 6-4 7-6 (5) 4-6 6-4. The match ended after 4 hours and 8 minutes.

H2H Nishikori vs. Djokovic

Kei will face Novak Djokovic for a place in the final. The head to head is 14-2 for the Serbian.

[su_button url=”https://tennistonic.com/head-to-head-compare/?Novak-Djokovic-Vs-Kei-Nishikori” background=”#ef862d” size=”8″ icon=”icon: bar-chart-o”]See More H2H Stats[/su_button]