Nishikori 2 wins away from history; knocks Murray out of US Open

Kei Nishikori defeated Andy Murray in a thrilling five-setter quarter-final at the US Open. Nishikori will next face Stan Wawrinka in the semi-final of the New York grand slam on Friday. Murray recently beat the Japanese in the semi-final of the Rio games.

Kei Nishikori shocked World No. 2 Andy Murray in the quarter-final of the US Open 2016 in a marathon of five sets under four hours at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The double Olympic champion, who previously won seven out of their eight matches, went off the mark with a dominating victory of 6-1 in the first set.

However, the Japanese held nerves to make a superb comeback and take three of the next four sets. He stormed into the semi-final of the grand slam by a thrilling 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 win.

Nishikori, who played the US Open final in 2014, is just two wins away from creating history. The World No. 6 will become the first-ever Asian to clinch a grand slam in the singles event.

It is the first time the Japanese ace has reached a grand slam's semi-final this year. He crashed out of Australia Open and French Open after a loss in the quarter-final followed by a weak fourth round elimination from the Wimbledon.

" It was exciting on the court, but I tried to stay calm. It was tough. He's a great returner, and there were lots of up and downs. I didn't start well," Nishikori told AFP.

Murray's previous win against this opponent came just last month when he defeated Nishikori in the semi-final of the Rio Olympics.

Meanwhile, the 2014 runner's up will next pit against two grand slam winner, Stan Wawrinka in the semi-final on Friday. The other penultimate round will feature defending champion Novak Djokovic locking horns with 10th seed Gael Monfils.