Kei Nishikori shocks Novak Djokovic, becomes first Asian to reach Grand Slam final

Kei Nishikori defeats Novak Djokovic to reach the US Open final / Getty Images

The Samurai of yore may have been designed to protect the feudal lords, but there is one that is taking form in New York, seemingly intent on shaking up the entrenched order. Ever since Roger Federer established a vice like grip on the men’s tour, it has been dominated by a handful of men who refuse to yield ground to an aspiring class of stars. Kei Nishikori seems bent on shaking up the tennis world order, after years of relentless hegemony at the top. The young Samurai from Japan took a giant stride in that direction when he upended the top seeded Novak Djokovic in four engaging sets 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 in a two hour 52 minute adventure. Nishikori’s victory marks a first for Japan, as no man from Asia had reached the finals of a grand slam tournament until now.

Tough conditions, but Nishikori came prepared

Nishikori was coming off a couple of brutal encounters – the Japanese needed five sets and four hours to get past Milos Raonic in the fourth round and a similar effort in the quarterfinals against Stanislas Wawrinka. But the determined Japanese wasted no time in asserting himself in the presence of his experienced and decorated opponent.

Under energy sapping conditions on a humid, sunny day – Djokovic got the game going with an ace down the middle to take the first game. The Serbian then made life difficult for his Japanese opponent, pushing him to deuce in the second game. Nishikori showed a calm resolve to hold his own in the first major semifinal of his career.

The 24 year old possesses a mean forehand, one that John McEnroe thinks is among the best in the business. And he brought it to bear in the third game, when he pushed Djokovic wide before nailing a break by whipping it to the other side. But Djokovic seemed equally alert to the threat from his opponent – just as he did in the quarterfinal against Murray, he tore in Nishikori in the very next game to put the set back on serve.

He may have spent nearly 14 hours on court to get this far and the Sun was sapping him on Saturday, but none of that could deny the Japanese for too long. Nishikori gained three break points in the seventh game, with a crushing backhand down the line winner. Though Djokovic sought to remedy the situation with aggression, Nishikori struck a crunching forehand winner to gain another break.

Not much later, Nishikori stepped up to the line with great confidence to serve out the first set, after gaining two set points with a service winner down the middle. The script lay scattered all over a shocked stadium, which took to cheer lustily for the underdog. Djokovic had paid the price for a meek second serve – off which he won just three points out of 12 in that first set. Nishikori, despite spending over three hours more than his opponent, was willing to take the battle to Djokovic on the strength of his ferocious forehand.

As expected, Djokovic fights back

But the Serbian hasn’t collected seven grand slam titles and reached 23 major semifinals by letting his opponents dictate play. The top seed responded in style almost immediately after losing the first set. Djokovic, who seemed a tad flat in the first set, pounced at Nishikori in the fourth game of the second set. And the rattled Japanese player made a couple of uncharacteristic errors, including one off his forehand, to gift a break to Djokovic.

It was just the kind of invitation needed to awaken the dormant soldier inside Djokovic. The Serbian cranked up some heavy power off the baseline to gain two more break points in the sixth game and soon the game started to wear an entirely different look compared to the beginning of the match. A thundering ace and a roar to match signalled the end of a one sided second set.

The momentum was firmly in Djokovic’s corner and the Serbian was finally punching his weight and stamping his authority over the contest. Under the situation, the third game was a vital stand off and the result was significant in the context of this battle. Nishikori survived an edgy nine minute battle during which he fought off seven deuce points, a double fault and break points to somehow stave off his charging opponent to hold serve. It may only have been a service held, but the manner in which that was accomplished underlined Nishikori’s resilience and willingness to scrap with his formidable foe.

Nishikori digs his feet in to go after Djokovic

At 3-3 in the third set, Nishikori had successfully stemmed the rising tide from across the net. Drenched in the sweat of his hard work, the Japanese also changed from a striped Scarlet shirt into a sparkling white one. The Japanese struck a crisply cut forehand cross court winner to gain break point in the eighth game, before nailing it with a return winner to take a 5-3 lead. Given the heat, neither play may have survived a full match, so it wasn’t surprising to see Djokovic play the next game with some urgency. The Serbian pressured Nishikori by keeping it tight and Nishikori surrendered the break with an unforced error followed by a double fault.

The set was back on serve and before long it was pushed into a tie-breaker that proved essential to the final result. Nishikoro showed great awareness in working actively to avoid getting into a bruising scrap with Djokovic. The Japanese used his forehand to telling effect to shorten rallies and power past his celebrated rival. A missed forehand and an untimely double fault left the Serbian staring at a 2-5 deficit. But Nishikori succumbed to an 18 shot rally and followed it with a double fault to surrender the edge he gained. But Djokovic faltered – making two straight forehand errors to lose the vital fourth set.

Momentum regained, Nishikori steps on the pedal

Nishikori seemed energised by managing to get in front for the second time in this match. It was perhaps more important for the Japanese to close out in four, than it was for Djokovic. The Serbian made life easier for the Japanese, when he sent in another double fault and followed it with a lame forehand to surrender an early break to begin the fourth set. Cued to his own pattern of breaking straight back, Djokovic gained three break points in the very next game. Yet again, in one of those critical junctures of this match, Nishikori showed great composure to stave off the danger, amply helped by some sloppy work on the part of the Serbian.

With the break retained, Nishikori started to play with renewed purpose and an understated yet evident confidence to retain the one break advantage through the eighth game of the fourth set, going to 5-3 with an ace. Now it fell upon Djokovic to serve and stay in the match. The finish came almost without warning, a backhand return winner brought two match points to the diminutive Japanese. Djokovic saved the first, but sailed a forehand long on the next point to leave Nishikori jumping in joy as the delight of victory started to electrify his strained muscles.

Incredibly, Djokovic won more points (120-117), had more winners (38-37), served more aces (13-5) and earned more break points (13-7) – but clearly the third set tie-break proved very decisive, besides Nishikori playing a composed hand to win the important moments of a closely contested battle. The Sun may be rising on a new star on the tennis firmament. Except for an unavoidable emergency, it is not a moment you would miss, deep into the night on Sunday when Nishikori takes on the winner between Marin Cilic and Roger Federer, with the Croat leading 6-3 after 28 minutes.