Rune, the sixth seed, rallied from behind to win four straight games and terminate the Japanese veteran’s campaign in front of a large audience in Tokyo. “It was all about getting that first serve, and if I could save that match point, I knew I could put on the pressure,” said Rune, who will face either reigning champion Ben Shelton or France’s Arthur Fils in the semi-final. “The momentum changed a little bit. I pulled myself up and became more positive.” Nishikori, 34, has been hampered by injuries and returned to Grand Slam action at the French Open.
He has been in fantastic form this week in Tokyo, taking control of the match against Holger Rune early on. “It was a great week for me — great three matches with tough opponents,” said Nishikori, who reached the US Open final a decade ago and was previously ranked fourth in the world. “I’d say this was the finest week ever. I performed pretty well, and I upped my level.” Rune needs a medical time-out in the third set, stating that “in one moment I thought it was not going to be”.
“One for the books.”
France’s Ugo Humbert also advanced to the semi-finals as his British opponent, Jack Draper, resigned early in set two. Draper, 22, became the first British man to reach the US Open semi-finals since Andy Murray won the title 12 years ago. He was hoping to build on his success in Tokyo, but he needed medical attention for his upper body late in the first set, which Humbert won 7–5. The Frenchman led 2-1 in the second when Draper indicated that he could not continue.
Draper had not dropped service in two matches into the quarterfinals in Tokyo, but Humbert broke him three times in a hard-fought first set. Humbert, who is ranked 19th in the world and has won two ATP Tour championships this year, will play Czech Republic’s Tomas Machac in the semi-finals.
Machac defeated American qualifier Alex Michelsen 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 in the day’s opening quarterfinal. Listen to the newest songs only on JioSaavn.com. “Everyone plays well; everyone is capable of defeating everyone else. I’m just trying to take my chances, play my game, and see what happens.”