Rune saves MP to survive Nishikori, advances to Tokyo SFs

Holger Rune saved a match point to defeat home hope Kei Nishikori Sunday in Tokyo and continue his bid for a first ATP Tour title of the season.

The No. 14 in the PIF ATP Rankings rallied to overcome two-time Tokyo champion Nishikori 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 in two hours and 16 minutes to advance to the semi-finals at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships.

The Dane received a time violation while facing a match point serving at 3-5 in the deciding set, but found a big first serve to get him out of trouble and recovered to move one step closer to claiming his first title of the year. He has reached one final this season in Brisbane, where he lost 6-7(5), 4-6 to Grigor Dimitrov.

“His ball striking and feel on the ball was incredible and it was very challenging for me,” Rune said in his post-match interview. “I had to find another gear to be able to beat him and it was almost not enough, but I managed to find that level and find that fighting spirit to beat him.”

Rising to the occasion ⚡️@holgerrune2003 saves match point against Nishikori to advance to the final four in Tokyo.@japanopentennis | #kinoshitajotennis pic.twitter.com/UJjN0FTkEE

The Dane struck 39 winners, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to claim victory in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head encounter. Rune also saved six of the eight break points he faced to become the fifth player to make six tour-level semi-finals this year.

The 21-year-old currently sits 16th in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin as he seeks to qualify for his second consecutive Nitto ATP Finals. He next faces either eighth seed Ben Shelton or #NextGenATP talent Arthur Fils in the final four.