Rivalries Of 2016: Murray vs. Nishikori

Continuing our Season In Review series, ATPWorldTour.com revisits the fiercest rivalries of 2016. Today we feature Andy Murray vs. Kei Nishikori:

With many high-pressure matches, pulsating moments and thrilling finishes, Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori met on four occasions in 2016 and their encounters had it all. Battling in a Grand Slam quarter-final, Davis Cup five-setter, Olympic semi-final and one of the best matches of the year at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, the pair provided arguably the most compelling rivalry and the drama between the lines did not disappoint.

Entering the year, Murray had dominated the rivalry, taking five of six meetings and refusing to relinquish a set in all his victories. He was ruthless in dispatching Nishikori 6-3, 6-0 in the 2015 Rogers Cup semis, but as the calendar flipped to 2016, so did the Japanese’s fortunes.

Their first meeting came in the Davis Cup first round in March. The Scot needed a win to send defending champion Great Britain into the quarter-finals and it looked to be another straight-set victory. He battled to a two-set lead, but Nishikori would find a second gear, breaking Murray in the third and fourth sets to force a decider in front of a raucous crowd in Birmingham. The home hope would secure the win in the decider, 7-5, 7-6(6), 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, but Nishikori gave him all he could handle in a near-five hour thriller.

Armed with newfound belief against Murray, the Japanese would finally turn the tables at the US Open. Despite falling in straight sets in the semis of the Rio Olympics, he entered their third encounter of the year poised to stem the tide.

In a back-and-forth contest that featured 17 breaks of serve, Nishikori was ultimately the more settled player during the match’s tightest moments. He took the three-hour and 57-minute contest 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, upsetting Murray to reach his second Grand Slam semi-final and first since the 2014 US Open.

“I saw some opportunities to come in today so I tried to be aggressive,” said Nishikori. “I saw that’s what I had to do, especially against Andy. He has great defense. I don’t know why I served and volleyed a lot today… but it was working. I think it was a great mix, serving and volleying and coming to the net.”

At no point was Nishikori more clutch than deep in the fifth set. With Murray serving at 5-all in the decider, Nishikori attacked a second serve and approached the net, lunging at Murray’s passing shot and connecting on a forehand volley that dropped in for an uncontested winner. He served it out a game later, claiming his fourth of five Top 10 wins in 2016.

Following two five-set battles, Nishikori entered the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals full of confidence against Murray. They would meet in the round-robin stage and with Murray’s year-end No. 1 quest hanging in the balance, an instant classic would ensue. The competitors produced the then-longest match in tournament history at three hours and 21 minutes, before Murray and Milos Raonic broke the record days later.

Nishikori was clutch in the opening tie-break and Murray was left to rue missed opportunities with the set on the line. The Japanese would take it 11-9 after 85 minutes, but the Scot regrouped immediately to secure a break to 30 to open the second set and eventually drew level to force a decider. Each game in the deciding set was competitive, but it was Murray who found a way to break Nishikori in the third and fifth games. He remained in control to prevail 6-7(9), 6-4, 6-4, extending his winning streak to 21 straight matches and exacting revenge after the US Open defeat.

“Until this year, we hadn’t really played many marathons,” Murray said. “It just turned out that this year we played three extremely long matches. The ones in the Davis Cup and the US Open were very tough, long five-setters. But we’ve played each other 10 or 11 times. It’s only really been this year that I remember that we played really, really long matches.”

View FedEx ATP Head2Head (Murray Leads 8-2)

Murray vs. Nishikori: 2016 Meetings