2014 US Open finalist Kei Nishikori moved into the last eight in New York once more, knocking off Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight, generally straightforward, sets amid the boiling Monday afternoon heat.
Nishikori, the No. 21 seed, won 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 in two hours and 19 minutes, pairing two controlled sets with a slightly trickier test in the final frame that required more than an hour and two attempts at serving out the match.
The world No. 19 hit 29 winners to 18 unforced errors — Kohlschreiber hit more errors than winners — and won an impressive 78 percent of first serve points. Nishikori lost his serve just twice and continued his dominant head-to-head against the veteran German, taking an 8-0 edge in sets won.
“I think he was playing good, too, but I think I was playing little better and tried to step in a lot and playing aggressive and played, you know, the way I wanted to,” Nishikori said. “For me, it was a great game. He started playing well in the last couple of games, but happy to finish in three sets today.”
Nishikori used his superb movement to break Kohlschreiber twice early in the first set, and quickly settled in on serve. He dominated the lengthy rallies, forcing the German to lift a backhand wide on Nishikori’s first set point for a one-set lead. The second set progressed in similar fashion, with two Nishikori breaks in large part to a blistering backhand that kept Kohlschreiber on the back foot on both serve and return.
The 28-year-old from Japan faced no break points in the set and closed it at first asking. That would prove to be the easiest set, however, as Kohlschreiber dug in to fight off three break points early in the set and broke Nishikori back when he served for the match at 5-4.
It was a short-lived bright spot for the German, who handed No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev an upset defeat in the third round on Saturday. Nishikori whipped a short forehand on break point in the next game, then secured the victory when Kohlschreiber hit a forehand long on the second match point.
Nishikori, who has dropped just one set through four matches, faces a winnable quarterfinal against either Marin Cilic or David Goffin. He entered the US Open just 3-3 on the North American summer hard court swing, but appears to have found his top form at his favorite grand slam.
