Kei Nishikori pumped his right fist in celebration after winning a physically demanding encounter against Marin Cilic on Friday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

Nishikori, renowned for his fighting abilities, had seen three match points evaporate in the second set, but as the match wore on he dug deep in the critical moments to complete a 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-3 quarter-final victory over the second-seeded Cilic.

“Every match I think I’m improving,” said Nishikori. “Today was tough match. He was playing very good, especially in the second set. He was playing aggressively, [taking the ball] early and serving well.

“It wasn’t an easy match. Yeah, mentally it was a little bit tough in the second set. I lost three match points. He was starting to play better again.”

Having also worked hard in his three previous wins this week over 2015 runner-up Tomas Berdych, Daniil Medvedev and qualifier Andreas Seppi, the Japanese star – through to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final in 20 months – will now prepare to compete on Saturday against third-seeded German Alexander Zverev, celebrating his 21st birthday today.

Nishikori, who reached the New York Open semi-finals (l. to Anderson) in February, lost to Zverev in their only previous meeting at the 2017 Citi Open in Washington D.C..

Nishikori’s eighth victory in 14 FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against World No. 3 Cilic was earned over two hours and 56 minutes. It was the first time he had beaten a player in the Top 3 of the ATP Rankings since November 2016, when he beat then No. 3-ranked Monte-Carlo resident Stan Wawrinka at the 2016 Nitto ATP Finals.

The Japanese star has reached three Masters 1000 finals – at the 2014 Mutua Madrid Open (l. to Nadal) and two in 2016 at the Miami Open presented by Itaú and the Rogers Cup in Toronto (l. to Djokovic both times), which was also his last semi-final appearance at the elite level.

Nishikori looked in complete control throughout the first set, which included one service break in the fifth game. But when Cilic was leading 3-1 in the second set, the Croatian stopped play after the first point of the fifth game to take a medical time out. With something bothering Cilic below his right knee that was already strapped up, the three-minute break in play benefitted Nishikori, who broke back immediately and went on to clinch Cilic’s serve in a nine-minute ninth game.

Yet Nishikori, serving for a place in the semi-finals, was unable to close out three match point opportunities from 40/15 and Ad-In, courtesy of a double fault, a backhand error and a well-timed backhand winner from Cilic. Soon errors in the tie-break, coupled with aggressive play from Cilic that saw the second seed win seven of the eight points, sent the encounter into a decider.

Nishikori needed to bide his time until the eighth game of the third set, with Cilic hit a forehand into the net when serving at 30/40. Minutes later, at 5-3, 40/30, Nishikori sent a first serve down the middle which Cilic couldn’t get enough racquet on.

Monte-Carlo resident Cilic, who had been competing in the quarter-finals for the third time (also 2015, 2017) at the club where he trains year-round, drops to a 15-6 match record on the season, which includes a runner-up finish at the Australian Open (l. to Federer).

Did You Know?
Nishikori continues his pursuit of a third tour-level clay-court title. The Japanese star triumphed in Barcelona in 2014 and 2015.

John McEnroe deems beating Rafael Nadal on clay as the toughest challenge in tennis. Dominic Thiem knows exactly what that feels like, as the only man to have done so in 2017 – the second time in his career he has achieved the feat.

View FedEx ATP Head2Head for the following matches from the 2018 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters & vote for who you think will win! 
Nadal vs Thiem | Dimitrov v Goffin | Cilic v Nishikori | Zverev v Gasquet

On Friday, the Austrian will earn another shot at it when he faces the 10-time Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champion in the quarter-finals on Court Rainier III.  Fifth seed Thiem is considered the Spaniard’s greatest obstacle to capturing a record 11th crown at this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament. 

Nadal must retain his title to stay ahead of Roger Federer at the top of the ATP Rankings and on Thursday, he moved a step closer to doing so with a routine 6-2, 6-3 win over Russian Karen Khachanov. Thiem, dealt a tough draw in his first tournament back since fracturing his ankle in Indian Wells, needed three sets to see off a resurging Novak Djokovic in his third-round match.

“Of course, it was important for my self-confidence, to know I’m physically 100 per cent again,” Thiem said. “It was a great win.” 

It improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the Serbian to 2-5. He enters the quarter-finals with the same win-loss record against Nadal.

All seven matches between the pair have been played on clay, with four of those coming last season. Nadal prevailed in finals on home turf in Barcelona and Madrid before Thiem found revenge in the quarter-finals in Rome. The Spaniard had the final say with a straight-sets semi-final routing en route to his 10th Roland Garros title.

“It is a different year, different feelings for both of us,” Nadal said. “It is going to be a difficult match. He is a player that plays so good on every surface, but especially on clay. 

“I can’t let him play from good positions because he has lot of power and it will be so difficult to control him if he is in an advantaged position. I need to take care of that. I need to play aggressive, with higher intensity than him.”

Thiem said he hoped Friday’s quarter-final clash would become the start of another great clay-court rivalry between the pair in 2018. That Rome quarter-final win from last season would be front and centre of mind as he attempts to become the first player to beat both Djokovic and Nadal on clay at the same tournament.

“For sure. It’s a way better feeling if you go against him and know that you’ve beaten him already on this surface. Also two years ago we had a great match here, which was pretty open,” Thiem said, before he reiterated McEnroe’s sentiments.

“It’s the ultimate challenge for everybody, to play against him … I have to raise my level again. I think I’m able to do that. If you do so, I’m going to have chances. If not, I’m out. It’s pretty easy.”

Awaiting the winner will be either No. 4 seed Grigor Dimitrov or No. 6 seed David Goffin. The last time the pair met in February, Goffin was forced to retire from their Rotterdam semi-final after a ball ricocheted off his frame into his eye. In Monte-Carlo, they are also through to the doubles quarter-finals together. The Bulgarian leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 6-1, including victory in their biggest showdown to date, in the final of the Nitto ATP Finals in November last year.

Third-seeded German Alexander Zverev will have more cause for celebrations on his 21st birthday should he find a way past Frenchman Richard Gasquet. The last time the pair met, Zverev fended off three match points en route to landing his second Masters 1000 title in Montreal last August. Gasquet’s defeat of Mischa Zverev on Thursday made him the first Frenchman to notch 500 match wins, 16 years after his first as a 15-year-old in Monte-Carlo (d. Squillari).

Second seed Marin Cilic will square off against Japan’s Kei Nishikori in a rematch of their 2014 US Open final. Nishikori leads the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head series 7-6, including a win in their lone prior meeting on clay in the 2014 Barcelona quarter-finals. 

It wasn’t so long ago that David Goffin’s immediate outlook was, well, blurry.

In February, the 27-year-old was trailing 3-6, 0-1 in his semi-final match against Grigor Dimitrov at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament when he framed an attempted volley directly into his left eye. That led to the premature end to the match and required an immediate trip to the hospital.

The eye injury wasn’t deemed serious, but it was still bad enough that the Belgian was forced to withdraw from events in Marseille and Indian Wells. It also required the use of a special contact lens in the damaged left eye while competing.

Goffin admits his eyesight isn’t completely clear. After his Round of 16 win over Roberto Bautista Agut in Monte-Carlo on Thursday, however, two things became very clear: Goffin is back in form, and while his vision might be slightly impaired, his spirit is operating at full strength.

Goffin battled his way into the quarter-finals by defeating the No. 11 seed Bautista Agut, 6-4, 7-5, in a gut-checking one-hour and 42-minute match on Court Des Princes. Goffin forged his way to a 5-1 lead in the second set, only to see Bautista Agut storm back to level the match at 5-5. Even with his endurance being tested and nerves checked, the Belgian found a way to seal the victory two games later.

Afterward, Goffin credited the win – his second since a 6-0, 6-1 loss to Joao Sousa in his return at the Miami Open presented by Itau – to solid preparation for clay-court play.

“When I came back from Miami, I trained to prepare for the clay-court season,” Goffin said. “I played more tennis, so I had very good preparation for clay.”

Even more encouraging for Goffin, he’s able to concentrate on his tennis – and not his eye – while playing.

“I’m not thinking about it any more,” Goffin said. “If I feel something is bothering me, I’ll think about it all the time and I will never be able to focus on tennis. But now I’ve gotten used to the lens, and I’m not thinking about it any more.

“I’m doing exercises every day to try to get both eyes at the same level again; I’m working to get the same vision that I had previously. I had many tests performed, and now the lens I have is very good; I’m able to forget about it. That was the goal.”

With the eye issue now downgraded to a minor hindrance, Goffin can focus fully on the next task at hand: a quarter-final showdown against good friend Dimitrov. The fourth-seeded Bulgarian defeated Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to book his place in the last eight in Monte-Carlo.

The pair are no strangers to one another’s game: Goffin and Dimitrov contested the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals title match and are also through to the last eight as a doubles team after defeating eighth seeds Ivan Dodig and Rajeev Ram 5-7, 7-6(4), 10-8 on Wednesday. They’ve also met seven times before, with Dimitrov leading Goffin 6-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

Goffin realises the uphill battle he’s facing if he’s to make a return trip to the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo and expects a spirited showdown.

“With Grigor, we’ve played each other often lately and have practised together, especially on clay,” Goffin said. “We know each other well; he’s always a very tough opponent. He’s very physical. He moves around very well on the court. It’s very difficult for me to outrun him. On clay, I haven’t played him yet, I think. It will be a first.

“Any match, a quarter-final, whatever happens, we will have to play doubles together, and there will be no problem.”