Japanese star downs Karlovic
Kei Nishikori gave the storied Louis Armstrong Stadium a proper send-off, beating Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) in the fourth round of the US Open on Monday. The venerable court, which was hosting a men’s singles match for the last time, is set to be replaced by a temporary structure next year, before a new complex is unveiled for the 2018 US Open. The 2014 finalist (l. to Cilic) is into the last eight at Flushing Meadows for the second time in eight appearances and will face Andy Murray or Grigor Dimitrov.
Despite playing on a windy day with gusts up to 25mph, Nishikori started the match flawlessly from the baseline. The Japanese star hit 26 winners and, remarkably, did not make a single groundstroke unforced error in building a two-set lead. Karlovic forced a third-set tie-break after firing 19 winners in the set, but Nishikori raced to a 6/0 lead before closing out the match in just over two hours.
The 37-year-old Karlovic was bidding to become the oldest player to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final since 39-year-old Jimmy Connors fought into the US Open semis in 1991. However, the conditions conspired against the 6’11” Croatian, affecting his service toss and pushing Nishikori’s topspin lobs beyond Karlovic’s prodigious reach.
Nishikori, who has reached the second week in all four Grand Slam events this year, improved to 6-7 in career fourth-round matches at major tournaments. He is now 2-2 in 2016, including a quarter-final showing at the Australian Open (l. to Djokovic).