Novak Djokovic eliminated defending champ Andy Murray in straight sets and while fifth seed Roger Federer was sent crashing out of the ATP Tour's Miami Masters tournament in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Federer lost 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Japanese 20th seed Kei Nishikori who booked a semi-final showdown with former world number one Djokovic who defeated Murray 7-5, 6-3 on the hardcourts at Crandon Park.
"Kei did well to stay with me and not allow me to hold my serve," Federer said. "He was more consistent in the second and third set and those are the ones he won. At the end it's his credit."
Nishikori reached his second Masters semi and first in 2 1/2 years by winning the two hour, nine minute night match.
"I thought I really played well, especially in the third," Nishikori said. "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."
Nishikori next faces Djokovic, who is going for back-to-back Masters titles after his triumph at Indian Wells.
The 26-year-old Serbian Djokovic recovered from an early break in the second set to notch the victory in one hour and 29 minutes.
It was the first meeting between the two since Murray defeated Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
"I tried to move him around, change the pace of the ball, mix it up with the slice, with different depth, angles and just stay tough out there," Djokovic said.
Djokovic hammered seven aces and broke Murray three times and is now 12-8 lifetime against Murray, including a 3-1 record in Miami.
The Serb settled into the match quickly and when he did lose his concentration he used his strong serve to rescue the points.
In the second set, Murray broke Djokovic in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. In the next game he double faulted twice and Djokovic went on to win four straight games to wrap up his ninth consecutive win.
Murray, who underwent back surgery on September 23, struggled for consistency sometimes on his backhand in the windy conditions. Other times he moved well enough to keep Djokovic on his back foot.
"I had many opportunities today like 30-all games and love/30s on his serve, and I didn't serve so well when I went ahead in the second set," said Murray.
"I would have liked to have done that better, but I was hitting the ball better from the back of the court. I was playing aggressive. I was taking the ball early. I was trying to come forward a bit. My game is not far from where I want it to be."
