Nishikori first Japanese slam semifinalist since '33

Kei Nishikori felt like he had jet lag.

That will happen after playing more than 8 1/2 hours of tennis in two Grand Slam matches separated by about a day and a half. Nishikori did not mind because he knew he had made history. He became the first man from Japan to reach the US Open semifinals in 96 years, outlasting third-seeded Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 6-7 (5), 6-4 on Wednesday.

"I hope," Nishikori said, "it's big news in Japan."

The match went four hours, 15 minutes, and the 10th-seeded Nishikori managed to shake off any lingering exhaustion from his previous victory, which lasted 4:19 and ended at 2:26 am on Tuesday, equaling the latest finish in tournament history.

On Wednesday, against the Australian Open champion, Nishikori said, "I started a little bit tight."

"But my body was OK," he said. "I don't know how I finished ... but I'm very happy."

At least now he gets some time to recover. The semi-finals are not until Saturday, when Nishikori will face No 1 Novak Djokovic.

"Hopefully I can play 100 percent tennis next round," Nishikori said.

The last Japanese semifinalist at the US Open was Ichiya Kumagae in 1918. No man from the country had made it to the final four at any major tournament since Jiri Satoh at Wimbledon in 1933.

Nishikori already was the first Japanese man to be ranked in the ATP's top 10 after climbing to No 9 in May. He came into the US Open without a lot of proper preparation because he was sidelined after having a cyst removed from his right foot in early August.

Associated Press

(China Daily 09/05/2014 page23)