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Zverev bounced back after dropping the opening
set to overhaul the seventh-seeded Japanese 3-6 6-1 6-4,
eliminating him from the tournament for the second consecutive
year.
German Zverev will meet Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals on
Saturday after the up-and-coming Greek upset third seed David
Goffin 6-3 6-4.
Murray's withdrawal, announced earlier on Friday, gave
Australia's Alex de Minaur a free pass to the semi-finals where
he will meet the winner of Andrey Rublev and American Denis
Kudler.
The Zverev-Nishikori result was delayed for more than two hours
by rain with Zverev leading 3-2 with a break in the third set.
When play resumed, Zverev took a second break thanks to a series
of errors by Nishikori and closed out the match.
Nishikori had earlier controlled play as Zverev stayed largely
behind the baseline but that changed in the second set, when the
German became far more aggressive, especially on return.
The teenaged Tsitsipas took advantage of an uncharacteristic
slew of unforced errors by Goffin to topple the world number 11.
He saved all three break points he faced and fired seven aces to
Goffin's four in the upset. He also won 86 per cent of his first
serve points.
De Minaur moved into his third ATP semi-final, after reaching
his first two in January at Brisbane and Sydney. The 19-year-old
is projected to soar past his previous career-best world ranking
of 68 and could make the top 50.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by
Ian Ransom)
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