Kei Nishikori admitted he needed to conquer his nerves before he could think about beating Novak Djokovic to reach the US Open final last night.
Japan’s Nishikori became the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam final when he swept past the seven-time major winner in New York.
The 10th seed braved on-court temperatures nudging the 40 degree mark to clinch a famous 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 victory over the world number one.
Nishikori, the first Japanese man since 1918 to reach the semi-finals at Flushing Meadow, goes on to face either 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer or Croatia’s Marin Cilic in tomorrow’s championship match.
His victory over Wimbledon champion Djokovic will go down as one of the sport’s greatest ever shocks.
The 27-year-old Serb was the 2011 champion in New York, was playing in his eighth successive US Open semi-final and bidding for a sixth final, his 15th overall at the majors.
The top seed was also looking to make his third Grand Slam final of 2014. In contrast, prior to yesterday’s momentous triumph, the 24-year-old Nishikori’s best effort had been a run to the quarter-finals of the 2012 Australian Open.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” said a breathless Nishikori afterwards.
“I was a little bit tight especially as it was my first semi-final in a Grand Slam but it’s just an amazing feeling to beat the number one player.
“It was tough conditions, it was a little heavy and humid but I guess I love to play long matches.”
Nishikori said that the key was to forget about the one-sided second set. He started to play much better, very consistent and more aggressive. I tried to forget about the second set and tried to concentrate again.”
The Florida-based star also praised the work of coach Michael Chang, a Grand Slam winner with the French Open title in 1989.
“He’s been helping me a lot. We’ve been working well so that’s why I’m here.”
He added: “I hope it’s big news in Japan. Even though it’s 4 o’clock in the morning I hope everybody’s up watching.”
Djokovic conceded he was beaten by the better player, saying: “He played some great tennis. I congratulate him for the effort. He was the better player today.”
