Kei Nishikori Bests Marin Cilic in 2014 US Open Rematch, Moves to Semifinals

Kei Nishikori will face the winner of the Novak Djokovic-John Millman match.

NEW YORK — Kei Nishikori outlasted Marin Cilic in a rematch of the 2014 U.S. Open final, moving into the semifinals with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4 victory.

The No. 21 seed gave Japan a men’s and women’s semifinalist at the same Grand Slam tournament for the first time in the professional era. Naomi Osaka won her quarterfinal in the match that preceded Nishikori’s.

Cilic won the 2014 matchup in straight sets but this match resembled their 2010 second-round matchup in Flushing Meadows, when Nishikori rallied for a five-set victory in 4 hours, 59 minutes, the fifth-longest men’s singles match by time in U.S. Open history.

This one lasted 4:08 and sent Nishikori into a matchup with No. 6 seed Novak Djokovic or unseeded John Millman.