Kei Nishikori surprises the tennis community after defeating Andy Murray in an epic five setter. The Japanese had to rally from behind after recovering a 0-1 and 1-2 sets deficit. The key of the match was the 5th set when both players were struggling to hold serve (5 breaks in total). Eventually, it was Nishikori to conquer the decisive break in the 11th game to win 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-1 7-5 after a 3 hours and 57 minutes’ battle.
The gong affair.
The Brit lost his concentration when he was 2-1 up, and he was in firm control of a rally during a crucial break point in his favor. The rally was halted after a loud noise similar to a “gong” broke in the stadium; Murray was furious to lose seven consecutive games and trail on a 6-1 4-6 6-4 1-6 0-2 score-line. Finally, Andy bounced back in the set, but Kei won the battle.
I was affected by that point. MURRAY
Soon after Andy commented
“They stopped the point, and I was just curious why that was, and that was it. Did it affect me? Definitely.”
Serve and volley worked well. NISHIKORI
After the match, Kei reflected on what worked well.
“I saw some opportunities to come in today, so I tried to be aggressive. I saw that’s what I had to do, especially against Andy. He has great defense. I don’t know why I served and volleyed a lot today… but it was working. I think it was a great mix, serving and volleying and coming to the net.”
The semi vs. Wawrinka
Kei will play Stan Wawrinka in the semi-final. The head to head is 3-2 for the Swiss, but Nishikori has won the last one in the Rogers Cup semi this year.
| |
| THE DRAW |
| ANOTHER GREAT RUN IN NEW YORK |