Kei Nishikori reaches his 3rd consecutive semifinal in Memphis, but that wasn’t easy.
The Japanese had a great draw to play 2 qualifiers in the opener and in the quarters. Many were expecting an easy ride for the world no.5, but eventually Kei had to recover in both matches from 1 set down. In the quarters Nishikori had a tough encounter with world no.156 Austin Krajicek. Kei lost the first set 4-6, to rebound in the second and win 6-3. The drama unfolded in the 3rd set as Kei squandered a 4-2 lead to be broken in the 7th game (4-3). Eventually the Japanese broke back in the game after to win the match 4-6 6-3 6-4.
Kei scored just 4 points more than Austin (100 vs. 96) and he committed 8 doubles faults… not his best day! Match Stats.
Nishikori: I didn’t play my best tennis
Kei commented “Obviously I didn’t play my best tennis, but I won today; that’s meaningful. I think it’s a very good win today because he was playing good tennis… He was hitting a lot of aces that I wasn’t really expecting, but I knew he was playing great… I knew it was going to be a tough match.”
The semi vs. Querrey
Kei will play Sam Querrey in the semi. Head to head is 3-2 for the American, but Kei is the favorite to reach the final.
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KEI IN ACTION
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