Grand day for Japan at U.S. Open
NEW YORK • Kei Nishikori outlasted Marin Cilic in a rematch of the 2014 U.S. Open final, moving into the semifinals with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4 victory on Wednesday in the U.S. Open.
The No. 21 seed gave Japan a men’s and women’s semifinalist at the same Grand Slam tournament for the first time in the professional era. Naomi Osaka won her quarterfinal in the match that preceded Nishikori’s.
Cilic won the 2014 matchup in straight sets but this match resembled their 2010 second-round matchup in Flushing Meadows, when Nishikori rallied for a five-set victory in 4 hours, 59 minutes, the fifth-longest men’s singles match by time in U.S. Open history.
This one lasted 4:08 and sent Nishikori into a matchup with No. 6 seed Novak Djokovic or unseeded John Millman.
Earlier, Osaka charged into the first Grand Slam semifinal by a Japanese woman in 22 years, routing Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-1 in the quarter-finals.
The No. 20 seed continued what’s been a largely dominant run through the draw by winning in just 57 minutes, the third time in her five matches she didn’t even have to play an hour.
Osaka moved from Japan to New York at age 3, and her deepest major run is coming at the same tournament she first visited as a child.
“Well, it definitely means a lot for me and I always thought if I were to win a Grand Slam, the first one I’d want to win is the U.S. Open, because I have grown up here and, like, then my grandparents can come and watch,” she said.
She raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set and then 4-0 in the second against the shaky Tsurenko, who finished with more unforced errors than points in her first major quarter-final.
Osaka will face 14th-seeded Madison Keys Thursday in the first major semifinal appearance for a Japanese woman since Kimiko Date reached the final four at Wimbledon in 1996.
The 20-year-old Osaka said she was nervous, claiming to be “freaking out inside” — though it certainly never showed.
“Just like my entire body was shaking, so I’m really glad I was able to play well today,” Osaka said.
Keys reached the semifinals at a second consecutive U.S. Open by beating No. 30 Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4, 6-3. Keys has made it to the final four at three of the past five Grand Slam tournaments but is seeking her first major title.
Serena Williams faces Anastasija Sevastova in Thursday’s other women’s semifinal.