By Chris Oddo | Monday September 3, 2018
Kei Nishikori made it consecutive quarterfinals at the majors by notching a straight-sets win over Philipp Kohlschreiber on Day 8.
Photo Source: Getty
The comeback of Kei Nishikori continues. The Japanese No.1, who battled a wrist injury and missed five months of action from last August to late this January—including last year’s U.S. Open—has worked himself back into form and fitness and is now looking like a contender for a deep run in New York.
Nishikori beat the heat and German Philipp Kohlschreiber on Day 8 in New York, notching a 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 victory and booking a quarterfinal slot at the U.S. Open for the third time in his last four appearances.
"I think I played good tennis to not play his tennis," Nishikori told reporters after the match. "I think he was playing good, too, but I think I was playing little better and tried to stepping in a lot and playing aggressive and played, you know, the way I wanted to. I mean, for me, was great game. He started playing well in the last couple of games, but happy to finish in three sets today."
The former runner-up will face either Marin Cilic or David Goffin in the last eight, and based on his form through his first four matches, many believe that he will be the player squaring off with either Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic in the semifinals later in the week.
Nishikori owns an 8-6 lifetime record against 2014 U.S. Open champion Cilic, and he is 3-0 against Goffin. Cilic and Goffin will play Monday’s final singles match on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
For now, Nishikori’s confidence will be buoyed by the fact that he has now reached back-to-back quarterfinals at the majors in a season that saw him begin his road to recovery on the Challenger circuit.
He started to hit his stride on the clay, where he stormed to his fourth Masters 1000 final at Monte-Carlo, and he has since reached the second week of all three majors he has contested in 2018.
On Monday Nishikori cracked 29 winners against just 18 unforced errors and broke serve six times against Kohlschreiber. He didn’t face much resistance from the 34-year-old German until he served for the victory at 5-4 in the third set. Kohlschreiber ratcheted up his aggression at that juncture and broke for 5-5 but Nishikori rallied to steal the final two games and the match in two hours and 16 minutes.
The Japanese No.1 now leads the lifetime head-to-head with Kohlschreiber 3-0 and he has won all eight sets they contested.
He became the first Japanese male to reach a Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open in 2014 and in 2016 he proved that New York is his special place when he upset Andy Murray in the quarterfinals and reached the semifinals.
Those two special moments represent the only trips that Nishikori has made beyond the quarterfinals in his 34 appearances at the Slams.
Will that change in a few days’ time? Time will tell…