Kei Nishikori blew men’s tennis off its axis on Saturday night when he caused a sensational upset to overcome Novak Djokovic and reach the US Open final. The 24-year-old, from Japan, braved fierce heat and humidity to beat the world No 1 6-4, 1-6, 7-6, 6-3 in two hours 52 minutes and become the first male from his country to reach a Grand Slam in the modern era. He was left awaiting the winner of the second semi-final between Roger Federer and No 14 seed Marin Cilic, for whom the stakes were substantially raised. VIDEO Scroll down to see Nishikori despatch Federer earlier this year
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Kei Nishikori beat Novak Djokovic in four sets in the US Open semi-final
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Japan's Nishikori beat Serbia's Djokovic 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3
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Nishikori is the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam final
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His previous two matches lasted a total of eight and a half hours
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Djokovic was playing to make his fifth consecutive US Open final
That did not happen and it was @placeholder who became more erratic in the heat of the afternoon, going down an early break in the fourth and never threatening to get it back against an opponent who, while not physically imposing, is a terrific mover around the court.