Kei Nishikori caused an upset at the Australian Open after he toppled sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after a five-set epic.
Japanese ace emulates Nunoi and Satoh
Kei Nishikori caused an upset at the Australian Open after he toppled sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after a five-set epic.
Nishikori, who is ranked 24th at Melbourne Park, bounced back from losing the first set to eventually see off Tsonga 2-6 6-2 6-1 3-6 6-3.
The 22-year-old, who becomes the first Japanese man since Ryosuki Nunoi and Jiro Satoh in 1932 to reach the last eight at the Australian Open, will now face world No.4 Andy Murray.
Nishikori had started off slowly as Tsonga was able to dictate the pace - however the Frenchman was unable to quell the enthusiasm and non-stop running of his rival.
Even when Nishikori needed his ankle strapped after levelling the match, Tsonga, a former finalist in Melbourne, was unable to take full advantage.
In fact, Tsonga was guilty of committing 70 unforced errors while Nishikori chased down everything.
"I was just playing one point at a time," said Nishikori.
"It was not easy conditions today, Jo-Wilfried was playing well and I was just trying my best. Hopefully it's big news in Japan."
A disappointed Tsonga admitted: "It was tough, I had a good opponent today. I didn't play good tennis and I didn't control everything. It was not a nice moment for me.
"He's tough to play because he runs a lot and everything comes back.''
