Stanislas Wawrinka outslugged Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 in energy-sapping humidity at Flushing Meadows on Friday to set up a US Open final against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
The third-seeded Swiss took a while to get untracked as 2014 US Open runner-up Nishikori played a near flawless opening set of the semi-final with just two errors.
The Japanese broke Wawrinka to start the second set, but the Swiss started rolling after breaking back in the fourth game and Nishikori, who went five tough sets to upset second seed Andy Murray in a four-hour quarter-final, began to wither.
Photo: AP
Wawrinka, the 2014 Australian Open winner and last year’s French Open champion, broke Nishikori in the last game of the second, third and fourth sets to reach his first US Open final.
“He was playing really good from the beginning, he was dictating,” Wawrinka said. “He was putting pressure on me, didn’t give me any time. I had to wait. I had to fight and he also started to get tired a little bit. That’s when I started to get aggressive.”
The hard-working Wawrinka stayed on track by coming up big on key points, saving 11 of 15 break points held by the talented Japanese at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Photo: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY
Wawrinka saved four break points in the seventh game of the second set to stay on serve at 4-3 and saved two more in the ninth game before leveling the match.
Nishikori, who looked fatigued, fell behind 3-1 in the third set, but rallied to bring it back on serve at 4-3 and appeared to gain a respite when rain forced a delay to shut the roof.
Once again, Wawrinka clinched the set on Nishikori’s serve when the Japanese lunged to hit a forehand volley on a rifled passing shot and sent it long.
Nishikori, whose 2014 New York campaign made him the first player from an Asian country to reach a Grand Slam final, where he fell to Marin Cilic, lost serve three times in the final set to end the three hour, seven-minute match.
“I was definitely a little bit tired, especially in the end,” the 26-year-old Nishikori told reporters.
“I think also he was stepping up a little more from the second set. It’s not easy after playing Andy five sets,” he said.
In the other semi-final, Gael Monfils insisted his bizarre tactics against Novak Djokovic were deliberate as the eccentric Frenchman denied accusations he was not trying.
Djokovic triumphed 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to reach his 21st Grand Slam final, but the match was clouded by controversy when 30-year-old Monfils appeared to stop competing in the first set, standing inside the baseline, airily slicing first serves back to Djokovic.
The French player had lost all 12 career meetings with Djokovic prior to Friday and after he slipped 5-0 down in the first set, he slammed on the brakes in a desperate effort to turn the tide.
It worked briefly as he retrieved three games, but after dropping the second set, where he was broken twice more and was roundly booed, he reverted to a more traditional approach.
He restored his reputation in the last two sets, but he still faced claims he was “tanking.”
“I tried to get inside Novak’s head,” Monfils said. “It was a very quick 5-0. I had to change a little bit. I think it worked.”
“There’s not only one way to play tennis,” he said. “When the guy is hitting clean and you’re not serving good, you just show him. You stand in the middle of the court. He starts to double fault a little bit. Then you give him a very slow ball. And then he comes to the net. I pass him. Was great strategy.”
“When I tried to play ‘original’ tennis, he kills me,” Monfils said.
Djokovic admitted Monfils’ bizarre approach had unsettled him and that he had been foolish to get drawn into the trap.
“I thought at times that he was maybe behaving a little bit, for some terms and judgements, unacceptable, but I guess that was part of his tactics,” Djokovic said.
“If he said that, you have to believe him. He was 5-Love down with his game and he mixed it up. It seemed like it was a bit of a lack of effort, but then he started playing great,” he said.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and