NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Kei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka made history at the US Open on Wednesday when they became the first Japanese man and woman to reach the semi-finals of the same Grand Slam.
Nishikori reached the last four of the men’s singles with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-4 victory over Marin Cilic — the man who beat him in the 2014 final.
Earlier, Osaka defeated Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-1 in the semi-finals of the women’s singles.
Nishikori will be playing in his third US Open semi-final after similar runs in 2014 and 2016.
The 29-year-old has also reached the quarter-finals of the three other Slams including Wimbledon this year, the first Japanese man to do so in 23 years.
The 20-year-old Osaka is the first Japanese woman to make the last-four of any Slam since Kimiko Date at Wimbledon in 1996 — a year before she was born.
Osaka had reached the Australian Open last-16 in January in her previous best run at the majors.
She had also captured the prestigious Indian Wells title in March and defeated Serena Williams in Miami.
“The quarters was sort of my mental goal, every time I played a Grand Slam,” said Osaka.
“And after I went into the quarters, I kind of want to keep going, so I feel like I have to be focused again and keep trying really hard.”
Next up for Nishikori is a clash against either two-time champion and former world number one Novak Djokovic or John Millman, the Australian who stunned Roger Federer in the fourth round.
Osaka faces either US 14th seed Madison Keys, the runner-up in 2017 or Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro.
© Agence France-Presse
