http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/08/sports/tennis/kei-nishikori-upsets-andy-murray-united-states-open.html 2016-09-08 02:35:39 Kei Nishikori Upsets Andy Murray to Reach U.S. Open Semifinals Sixth-seeded Nishikori dropped the first set, 1-6, but won three of the next four to eliminate Murray, the world’s second-ranked player. === Andy Murray headed into the After he lost to Djokovic in the But his bid for a second U.S. Open title came to an abrupt end as Nishikori staged a thrilling 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 upset under the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The final point came with Nishikori pushing Murray wide and forcing a reaching backhand into the net. But the moment when everyone in the stadium knew it was going to end badly for Murray was when Nishikori broke him in the 11th game of the final set. Looking to protect a break point, Murray had the chance to put away a backhand. But he left the ball up for Nishikori, who ended the point with a volley. Murray’s reaction said everything about his day: He hammered his racket down in a violent overhead smash on the top of the net and continued on to his seat, shouting at himself. Nishikori, the U.S. Open runner-up in 2014, reached the semifinals for only the second time at a major tournament. He will play the winner of the match between No. 3 Stan Wawrinka and the wild card Juan Martín del Potro that was scheduled for Wednesday night. The quarterfinal between Murray and Nishikori was a tense, back-and-forth encounter marked by the closure of the roof midmatch because of a brief light rain, an unexpected blaring noise from the public-address system, a lot of muttering from Murray and a yellow butterfly that loitered at the net in the fourth set. After the ball boys and ball girls managed to humanely remove the butterfly, the players captivated the audience with a dramatic fifth set. Murray had won the first set with ease as Nishikori moped around the court, looking defeated. But in the second set things became complicated for Murray, and he was the one who began moping. At 3-3 in the set, a light rain began to fall, and the roof was closed, perhaps changing the course of the match. Murray’s body language suggested that he was not happy about the roof closure, although it did not seem to bother him in the next game. Serving at 3-4, 40-15, he came from 10 feet behind the baseline to chase down a drop shot and flick a backhand lob over Nishikori’s head that landed on the line. But Nishikori held his serve on the next game without losing a point. In the game after that, Murray hit an unforced backhand into the net at 30-30 to set up a break point and a set point for Nishikori. After a rally, Murray hit another backhand into the net, and Nishikori was back in the match, and applying pressure. Nishikori breezed through the third set as Murray’s agitation level rose noticeably. He chattered at fans who were not as quiet or still as he would have preferred. With the score 1-1 in the fourth set, the players were in the middle of a point, trading groundstrokes, when a loud electronic noise thundered accidentally from the public-address system. It was not the first time it had happened in this tournament. Ana Konjuh was in the middle of a service toss Monday night in her surprise victory over Agnieszka Radwanska when it happened, and she looked stunned by the sound. On Wednesday, Nishikori was serving at 30-40, and the chair umpire, Marija Cicak, stopped play in the middle of the point. Murray threw up his arms in exasperation and protested that play should have continued, and his agitation only grew when the point was replayed and he lost it. He then dropped the next point, and the game. During the changeover, he argued that when a similar sound was heard in the first set, the umpire told the players that if it happened again, play would continue. “It wasn’t as loud,” she replied. Murray laughed mockingly and summoned the supervising umpire, Wayne McKewen, who made the same argument. “It’s not fair,” Murray protested. By the end of the set, Murray was clearly conceding it and looking ahead to the fifth and deciding set. He hit a flat-footed backhand into the net for the final point of the fourth set and walked to his chair to regroup. But in the first game of the decisive set, Nishikori broke Murray with a deft service return. At that point, he had won seven of eight games. Trailing by 0-2, Murray finally held his service game by driving a huge serve down the middle and putting away the return with an easy forehand winner. The momentum seemed to shift in Murray’s favor when he broke Nishikori at love in the next game and the set was even, 5-5. But holding serve was a problem for both players all match, and Nishikori broke back, winning the final point of the 11th game by painting the line with a backhand to Murray’s right. Murray could only stand and watch. A few points later, he expressed his frustration by driving his racket into the net.