Defending champion, Roger Federer produced a backhand masterclass as he defeated Kei Nishikori 6-4 7-6(4) to reach the semi-finals in Shanghai.
The 20 time grand slam champion played much better than his previous two rounds and ousted Nishikori in just under two hours to secure a place in the semi-finals.
The world number two hit 43 winners as he used his backhand to great affect as he reached the last four in China. He will now face Borna Coric for a place in the final tomorrow night.
The top seed started strongly winning a long first game to break Nishikori before cruising to a commanding double break lead at 4-1. Despite early dominance from Federer, the world number 12 continued to fight back as he grabbed one of the breaks back.
However the Japanese star missed some key forehands as the defending champion secured the first set in 49 minutes and moved one step closer to the final.
Unlike his previous two matches, Federer refused to lose his momentum and continued his good returning by breaking in the first game of the second set.
The one thing that Nishikori continued to do in the match though was remain super positive and he always kept his energy despite Federer dominating the first set and a half.
A positive attitude was the key for Nishikori breaking back as a few uncharacteristic errors saw the eighth seed break back. All of a sudden, the Japanese player had an edge about him and played his part in a very entertaining second set.
The Swiss’ backhand came to his rescue in the latter stages though and forced a tiebreak with some sensational serving. The world number 12 had only lost two of his 18 tiebreaks this season before today as he showed that same form at the start of this tiebreak.
A 4-1 lead raised Nishikori’s hopes of forcing a deciding set against the defending champion as he continued to test a frustrated Federer.
However a quick turnaround from Federer and some quick thinking at the net saw the top seed win six points in a row and complete victory. As you can see below the victory clearly meant a lot to the Australian Open champion.
Best match of the week!@rogerfederer delivers an incredible performance to take out Nishikori 6-4 7-6(4) to reach the Shanghai semi-finals.#RolexSHMasters pic.twitter.com/wlqFFq8xPr
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 12, 2018
It was still a great week for Nishikori, who now lies 535 points behind Dominic Thiem in the race to London with two tournaments left.
However, Federer battles on and will now contest the last four in Shanghai, where he will face Borna Coric in a rematch from the Indian Wells semi-finals.
The other match sees Novak Djokovic face Alexander Zverev, with a Djokovic win moving him above Roger Federer in the world rankings.
