Nishikori beats Cilic in US Open final rematch

She is to face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who won the first semi-final match in the women’s draw after top seed Ekaterina Makarova withdrew before the third set with the score at 4-6, 6-3. “In the first set he started well”.

“I tried to hit a little more aggressive”, he said after the win, per the Associated Press (via USA Today).

Groth, in the midst of a big year which has lifted him to a career-best ranking of world No.62, was typically powerful on serve in a 6-3 6-4 victory over the seventh-seeded Spaniard.

“I think it was a great win for me”, he said.

“I’m sure that I am a better player than last year”, added Nishikori, the only Japanese man to participate in a major final. “The last two sets I was very happy with my tennis”.

Nishikori began his service game serving at 4-5 with a missed passing shot opportunity, giving Isner hope.

On Saturday, after a tight semi-final victory in Washington DC, John Isner told the crowd that he’d need them out in full force the next day to win the title.

“I just followed my plan”, said Lepchenko, who hammered 26 winners and had just 17 unforced errors. Both players need to follow up last year’s stellar performances with another deep run to defend their points from the 2014 Open.

Nishikori seeks his third title of the year after Memphis and Barcelona and the 10th of his career.

Nishikori broke again in the fourth and battled to hold to 5-0 in the 10-minute fifth game, three times denying Cilic on break points as he forced a third set.

Kei Nishikori, of Japan, celebrates after defeating Marin Cilic, of… “I’ll get you next time, though”.

Isner, the victor last week in Atlanta, then pounced, pounding a 76 miles per hour second serve for an inside-out forehand return victor, followed by a down-the-line forehand return victor off a 107 miles per hour serve. I didn’t do it that well because I was playing from behind for the most part, but I didn’t get too rattled and believed in myself. Having left his mother at the age of 14 to move to the U.S., Nishikori said that he felt his mother’s support in “every way possible”. Blocking Cilic’s path to his second semi-final of the year is Alexander Zverev, who rallied past Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. He improved to 41-9 in 2015; only No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 3 Andy Murray have won more matches, with 48 apiece.

Known for his powerful two-handed backhand, Nishikori also took a quick lead in the final set, breaking Cilic in the opening game. Pavlyuchenkova, the 2012 Washington runner-up, advanced to Sunday’s final against the later victor between Australian second seed Samantha Stosur and American Sloane Stephens. I was up 4-3 and he came back.

John Isner faced Steve Johnson in an all-American match in the second semifinal.