By Chris Oddo | Friday October 5, 2018
Big in Japan, and big on court.
That’s been the story of Kei Nishikori in Tokyo since 2012 and the 28-year-old’s success has continued unabated this week in front of his adoring home fans.
The World No.12 eased past Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-3 in one hour and 22 minutes in a contest that saw him take control midway through the first set and dominate up to the finish.
Nishikori improves to 19-3 lifetime at the Rakuten Open and will face Richard Gasquet in the semifinals on Saturday.
On Friday the two-time Tokyo champion didn’t need his best tennis but he put in on display anyway against Tsitsipas, a player that has begun to visibly show the effects of a grueling season of late. Nishikori and the 20-year-old Greek traded breaks to get to 3-3 in the opening set but the Japanese reeled off the next six games to lead 6-3, 3-0 before Tsitsipas could stop the rot and begin chipping away at his opponent.
Credit to Tsitsipas who appeared headed for a shellacking in the second set. He upped his level and protected his serve and even found his way to deuce in Nishikori’s final two service games.
But there was no way back into this contest as Nishikori was hungry to close the door on the determined Tsitsipas and take his rest before the weekend to come.
He did so in style, finishing with four breaks of serve on 11 opportunities to go with 28 of 33 first-serve points won.
Shapovalov Eases Past Struff to Set Clash with Medvedev
Denis Shapovalov saved a match point and rallied to take out Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 in Friday’s first semifinal in Tokyo. Luck was surely on Shapovalov’s side as he saved a match point in the second set tiebreaker when his forehand dribbled over the net cord for a winner and the sanctuary of a 7-7 score. He would close out the set from there and push through a tight third set to book his third semifinal of 2018.
"In the third set I felt a little bit more momentum," Shapovalov said, according to ATPWorldTour.com. "I felt I was able to free up a bit more and I managed to get an early break and from there I just kind of ran with it."
The Canadian will bid for his first ATP final on Saturday when he faces Russia’s Daniil Medvedev. The 22-year-old Russian was extremely impressive in his 7-6(4) 6-3 takedown of Milos Raonic. Having qualified for the main draw Medvedev has won all six sets he has played in Tokyo.
In Friday's final quarterfinal Richard Gasquet knocked off second-seeded Kevin Anderson 7-6(6), 7-6(4) to set a clash with Kei Nishikori. The Frenchman is into the semis in Tokyo for the first time since 2008 and he has now won all five tiebreakers he has played this week in Tokyo.