Kei Nishikori is one match away from his third Japan Open final in the last four years. Nishikori is 15-1 in that span at this tournament.

Nishikori Withstands Big Serving From Cilic

Kei Nishikori knew what to expect from Marin Cilic in their quarterfinal showdown on Friday, the two have faced each other four times in the past year and a half. Big serving was the name of the game for Cilic as he dished out 23 aces over the course of their three set match. In the opening set, Cilic had to find his best early on as he held off three break points in a 15 point third game just to hold for a 2-1 lead. The two players would swap service holds to a 3-2 Cilic lead when the Croat began to dictate play from the baseline and broke the second seed for a 4-2 lead. That would be enough to get the sixth seed the opening set 6-3. Cilic won 25 of 34 service points with seven aces in the set and did not face another break point after the third game.

The second set saw improvement from Nishikori and easier service holds. After Cilic saved a break point in the second game, both players settled into a groove that would see holds of serve to a 6-5 lead for Nishikori. With a tiebreak looming, it was Cilic who cracked on serve as Nishikori won three points in a row to close out the set with a break for a 7-5 score line that evened the match. Nishikori was able to get a few more points off Cilic's serve this set as the Croat lost eight of 13 points. The Japanese star was a rock on serve, winning 75 percent of the points on both his first and second serves.

The third set was tight with the match up for grabs. Nishikori would receive medical treatment after holding serve in the third game. The treatment was for stiffness in his right shoulder. Perhaps that broke Cilic's rhythm as the Croat struggled on serve in the next game, and was broken on the second chance that Nishikori saw. From there, it was all Nishikori, as he looked calm and collected in holding his way out of the set for a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 win. It marked his third win over Cilic in their last four meetings.

Semifinals Set With Wawrinka Leading The Way

Top seed Stan Wawrinka joins second seed Kei Nishikori as the only seed in the semifinals in Tokyo. Wawrinka had no problem with qualifier Austin Krajicek as the Swiss took him down 6-3, 6-4. Wawrinka used a solid first serve to win 81 percent of the points as he saved the only two break points he faced in the match. Krajicek wasn't that far off in his own game, but he found himself having to fight hard in his service games in the opening set. After saving a break point to even the set at 2-2, Krajicek would fold in his next service game at-love to help Wawrinka secure the opening set. The second saw a similar pattern, as service holds were exchanged early to 2-2 before the Swiss broke the American in the fifth game for a lead he would not relinquish. The match finished in just under an hour.

Elsewhere, Gilles Muller scored the upset of the day as he dominated third seeded Gilles Simon with his serve in winning 6-3, 6-4. That came even with Muller unable to consistently get his first serve in with his first serve percentage at just 48 percent. The lefty was dominant when his first serve landed, winning 33 of 38 points. Simon scuffled just enough with his own serve as he was broken three times and won just 56 percent of his service points. It came as a nice revenge for Muller who had lost to Simon in straight sets in September when they met at the Moselle Open.

The last semifinal spot was booked by Frenchman Benoit Paire who stormed back to beat Nick Kyrgios 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. Paire could not land a first serve to save himself in the opening set, with just 33 percent getting in play. That left Kyrgios to punish the second serve for eight of 14 points. The Aussie scored two breaks of serve in the set and would have rolled to a bigger score line if not for a loose service game that gave Paire a break back. The second set saw plenty of tension as Kyrgios was made to work hard with his second serve eaten up for 11 of 15 points by the Frenchman. Kyrgios escaped a tricky fourth game that saw eight deuces and four break points on his serve. Paire would come back late to snatch the set with a break in the tenth game to net the 6-4 win. Kyrgios came completely unraveled in the final set, as Paire broke early for a 2-0 lead and raced through the set with minimal work to finish off the win.

Semifinal Saturday

Stan Wawrinka leads play on Saturday against Gilles Muller. The Swiss has beaten Muller twice already this season in straight sets both times. The second semifinal will pit Nishikori against Paire. It is the chance for Nishikori to exact vengeance on the Frenchman who ended his 2015 U.S.Open campaign in the opening round in a five set war. Nishikori had won their previous two matches.

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About the author
Chris Spiech
Tennis fan who still is not sure exactly how he became a tennis fan.