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 After knocking off fourth seeded Spaniard David Ferrer in a
three-hour marathon on Tuesday, the 21st ranked Japanese was forced
to go the distance again, surviving a two-hour center court battle
with Federer.
Nishikori has been one of Federer's few bogeymen, having now gotten
the better of the Swiss maestro in two of their three career
meetings.
"To beat Roger, and it's second time to beat him... I thought I
really played well, especially in the third," Nishikori told
reporters. "I was hitting both deep and striking well. Everything
was going well.
"There was couple of tough moments, but I was fighting through and
happy to win today."
Arriving in south Florida riding the momentum from a finals
appearance at Indian Wells, Federer had been in superb form,
cruising into the Miami quarter-finals without dropping a set,
highlighted by 49 minute fourth round win over Richard Gasquet.
A two-time Miami champion, Federer convincingly won the opening set
and looked ready for an easy night when he twice went up a break in
the second.
But each time, the feisty Nishikori would immediately answer back
then broke Federer again at 6-5 to level the match.
With the third set heading towards a tie-break it was Federer who
blinked while serving to stay in the match at 5-4, slamming an easy
forehand into the net and then sending a return long to hand
Nishikori triple match point.
Federer would survive the first two but could not save the third,
Nishikori whipping a forehand winner off the return to seal the
upset.
"I just couldn't find my rhythm on the serve today," Federer said.
"It was surprising especially after how well I have served and
played this week.
"I had the set and a break and up a break again so it is a little
frustrating.
"He was more consistent in the second and third so all credit to
him."
MURRAY FALLS
The victory setup a semi-final meeting against world number two
Novak Djokovic, who ended Andy Murray's reign as Miami champion by
easing past the sixth seeded Briton 7-5 6-3.
For Djokovic, the victory over Murray was a small measure of revenge
as the met for the first time since the Scotsman beat him in last
year's Wimbledon final.
Murray, playing his first event since splitting with coach Ivan
Lendl last week, had looked increasingly comfortable and confident
on his own but Djokovic kept the Scotsman under almost constant
pressure in blustery conditions.
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"I was not surprised about the way he played," said Djokovic, whose
coach Boris Becker was also not in Miami as he is taking time off to
undergo double hip surgery. "I expected him to play well, to be a
little bit more aggressive.
"I tried to not allow him to be in the comfort zone because when he
strikes the zone, when he feels comfortable on the court, he's
striking the ball so well, maybe best in the world."
In dramatic contrast to the women's semi between Dominika Cibulkova
and Agnieszka Radwanska that ended moments earlier on center court
and featured 19 breaks of serve, breaks were hard to come by for
Djokovic and Murray in a tight opening set.
Murray had only a single break opportunity against the Serb while
Djokovic was able to convert one of his three chances, with the help
of a controversial point.
The first set ended in an argument between Murray and the chair
umpire, the Scotsman furious that Djokovic was given a point to open
the decisive game even though it was clear the Serb reached across
the net to hit the ball.
A distracted Murray then lost the next three points on unforced
errors as Djokovic claimed the break and set.
"I wasn't sure, from where I was standing, it was a very hard thing
to see," Murray said. "I knew it was close. So that's why I went and
asked Novak and he told me he was over the net. That was it.
"(The chair umpire) said, 'yes, he was over the net but he was in
line with the net,' so I didn't really understand.
"It maybe had a slight bearing on that game but I was still up a
break in the second set."
(Editing by John O'Brien)
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