WHAT HAPPENED: The sun is rising again on Kei Nishikori’s career.
After struggling for the past 12 months with a wrist injury that sidelined him for last year’s US Open and the opening Grand Slam of the 2018 season at the Australian Open, the 28-year-old Japanese star is healthy and winning again.
On another scorching New York summer day Monday, the 2014 US Open runner-up and semifinalist in 2016 moved into the quarterfinals with a determined 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 win over unseeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber.
In the world’s top 10 for three straight years starting in 2014, Nishikori had dropped to No. 39 this April before turning his season around. Since then, he has reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals, the French Open fourth round, the final at Monte Carlo and semifinals at Rome and Washington.
The No. 21-seeded Nishikori knelt down, pumped his fists and then took a look to the heavens almost in relief after wrapping up the two-hour and 17-minute victory on his second match point in the sun-baked Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“We were both struggling a little bit with the heat,” Nishikori said of the 90-degree-plus temperatures that prompted tournament officials to activate the heat policy guidelines.
Nishikori was not struggling in the opening two sets. He broke serve twice in each set and never trailed to take the sets in just 72 minutes. Kohlschreiber was struggling, spraying balls all over the court for an unsightly 23 errors in the two sets.
The third set looked to be a replay of the first two as Nishikori broke serve for 4-3 and then held serve for 5-3. Kohlschreiber, 34, who had never beaten Nishikori in two career matches and had never made the round of eight at Flushing Meadows, kept fighting. Nishikori was two points away from the match serving at 30-all in the 10th game, but Kohlschreiber broke on his third break point for 5-all.
However, Nishikori bounced back, breaking with a beautiful forehand cross-court winner for 6-5 and then serving out the match.
“After losing my serve, I focused again and played great in the last two games,” said Nishikori.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN: Nishikori has lost just one set thus far, that coming in his victory over Diego Schwartzman in the third round.
A possible rematch of the 2014 US Open final against Marin Cilic could be next if the hard-serving seventh seed beats David Goffin later. Cilic won the final in straight sets.
MATCH POINT: Nishikori’s all-around solid game is reflected in his career consistency in the Grand Slams. He has made the quarterfinals or better in all four of the majors, but has only managed to break into the semifinals twice -- both here at the US Open.
