ATP Japan Open: Kei Nishikori battles back from set down to set up final with Milos Raonic
Saturday 4 October 2014 14:49, UK
Kei Nishikori booked his place in the final of the ATP Japan Open with a hard-fought 4-6 6-0 7-6 (7-2) victory over unseeded Benjamin Becker.
Despite being hampered by a back injury in an opening set he lost, the fourth seed battled back to remain on course to clinch his fourth title of what has already been an excellent season.
Nishikori came out blazing in the second set, blasting forehands from the baseline on the way to three-successive service breaks.
He lost just 11 points in levelling the match at 1-1, and with momentum on his side it seemed the US Open finalist would have a fairly routine path through to Sunday's showpiece when he broke in the decider to lead 3-1.
However, Becker rallied from 40-15 down to immediately break back and eventually a tie-break was needed to see who whould progress.
Crucial blow
Nishikori struck the crucial blow with a forehand winner, much to the delight of the 10,000 crowd inside the Ariake Colosseum, to go 4-2 up - he eventually clinched the win after one hour and 47 minutes.
His triumph sets up a repeat of the 2012 final - a match Nishikori won in three sets - against Milos Raonic, the Canadian having breezed past Gilles Simon of France 6-1 6-4 in just 71 minutes in the opening semi-final on Saturday.
Raonic recorded two breaks of serve in the first set while just one was enough for him to take the second, meaning the eighth seed will compete in the final at the event for the third successive year.
"I executed well and had a good vision of what I wanted to do. That's why I could come up with the shots I needed," said Raonic, who lost to Juan Del Potro last year.
Nishikori, who last week lifted the Malaysian Open title, and Raonic have already met three times this season, including at Wimbledon and the US Open. The former holds a 3-1 career advantage over his opponent.
