On hard courts, they're tied at two apiece, with Nishikori's most memorable victory coming on these very courts two years ago.
#Stan wawrinka vs karen khachanov prediction series#
Wawrinka holds a 3-2 advantage, though his last win in the series came at the 2015 Australian Open. While Wawrinka and Nishikori have only played five previous times, their rivalry's been a competitive one.Īnd they already have history here in New York. Wawrinka and Nishikori have split their Grand Slam meetings. Just one more win separates him from a third major final. As they traded body blows from the baseline, Wawrinka played the cleaner match and ended del Potro's run. Taking on equally big-hitting del Potro in the quarterfinal, Wawrinka targeted the backhand side and used his own to take control. Eventually, he regained his footing and advanced in four sets. Not his sharpest against Illya Marchenko in the fourth round, Wawrinka squandered a chance to serve out the match in straight sets. "But in general, I think that was the key to the match." "It wasn't easy to stay calm with myself," Wawrinka told. In a duel that spanned over four hours, Wawrinka benefited from 16 Evans double-faults, even saving a match point in the fourth-set tiebreak.īattling himself as much as his opponent, Wawrinka edged out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (8), 6-2 victory. His stiffest test came in the third round when underdog Daniel Evans extended him to five sets.
Wawrinka followed up that win with a tougher-than-expected one over Alessandro Giannessi in his following match. In the first round, he downed Fernando Verdasco (who's given him trouble in the past) in straight sets. Handed a tricky draw, Wawrinka has successfully navigated around several potential stumbling blocks and overcome his own inconsistency these last two weeks. Wawrinka unloads a forehand during his quarterfinal match. That fighting spirit now has him on the verge of his second U.S. Even though there were many up and downs I tried to stay tough." "I think that's the most important thing I did today. “There were many up and downs, but I tried to calm," Nishikori told. Playing more aggressively and frustrating Murray by coming to the net frequently, Nishikori broke serve nine times, including three crucial ones in the final set.Īfter nearly four hours, Nishikori raised his arms in celebration in front of a stunned Arthur Ashe Stadium. But Nishikori heeded the wake-up call of that lopsided score, and benefiting from a rain delay in the second set, he surged back into the match. In all those meetings, Nishikori had only managed to win four total sets.įrom the start, it looked like history would repeat itself when Murray took the first set 6-1. 2 and title hopeful Murray, he brought a 1-7 record against the Scot. It's good Nishikori conserved some energy there because he'd be in for a taxing quarterfinal.Ĭoming into his match with world No. Nishikori didn't get off to the smoothest of starts to begin this tournament, needing four sets in each of his first three matches to get by Benjamin Becker, Karen Khachanov and Nicolas Mahut, respectively.Īvoiding the upset bug, he dug deeper against the deadly serves of Ivo Karlovic in the fourth round, securing a much-needed straight-sets win. Nishikori scored one of his biggest wins ever against Murray in the quarterfinals. Here's what to expect when these two collide. His showdown with Nishikori will present a different type of challenge.
“It was about being tough mentally, staying in the match and doing the right thing," David Waldstein of the New York Times quoted him as saying afterward. In those early-morning hours, Stan the Man summoned enough energy to keep the crowd on its feet. Del Potro eventually ran out of steam, and Wawrinka pounced on the Argentine. Working his way past a resurgent Juan Martin del Potro in a match that lasted well beyond midnight, Wawrinka triumphed 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka, who's also no stranger to this stage. They traded breaks back-and-forth throughout, but it was Nishikori who secured the last one as he catapulted into his second U.S. In a wacky quarterfinal that featured a rain delay, random noises from the stadium's PA system and a rogue moth (yes, that actually happened), Nishikori held his nerve and outlasted Murray 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 in a thrilling war of attrition. The sizzling Scot appeared well on his way to making those visions a reality. Playing the best tennis of his career, he was challenging Novak Djokovic for "top dog" status and the No. Open began, many experts and fans projected reigning Wimbledon and Olympics champion Andy Murray to soar to another final.
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