Murray tops Nishikori

MELBOURNE, Australia — Andy Murray overcame an inconsistent serve to beat Kei Nishikori on Wednesday and reach the semifinals of the Australian Open for the third straight year.

The No. 4-ranked Murray won 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 to join No. 1 Novak Djokovic, No. 2 Rafael Nadal and No. 3 Roger Federer in the semifinals.

During the first set, Nishikori played a lob shot through his legs on his way to winning the point — but by that time he was already a break down.

Murray, who hasn't dropped a set since the first round, broke seven times in all, although he plans to work on his serve after only managing a 44 percent success rate with his first serve.

"He's really tough to play because he never misses," Nishikori said of Murray. "It's tough to break his serve. He was making me run side to side all the time. To be honest, I don't think I have a chance against him with my skills for now."

In their previous head-to-head meeting, Murray routed Nishikori 6-3, 6-0 in the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters last October on his way to the title.

"I thought it was a good match," Murray said. "There were a lot of good points. Most of the fun points he was winning, so I was trying to keep them as short as possible. But I did well."

Earlier this week, 24th-seeded Nishikori upset sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round to become the first Japanese man to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event since Shuzo Matsuoka did so at Wimbledon in 1995.

Nishikori's previous career-best Grand Slam result was the round of 16 at the U.S. Open in 2008.

No Japanese player has advanced to the semifinals in the men's draw of a Grand Slam tournament since the Open era began in 1968. Jiro Sato was the last Japanese male player to reach the Australian Open semis (1932).

"I once again realized I need to have a great ability to achieve my goal of winning a Grand Slam tournament," Nishikori said.

Murray's opponent in the semifinals will be Djokovic, who appeared physically unwell for much of his quarterfinal match but still beat David Ferrer 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.

Djokovic rubbed the back of his upper left leg on several occasions, looked on the verge of being physically sick in the second set and buried his head in towels several times during breaks. During the third set, a tired-looking Djokovic sat down on a linesman's chair during a line-call video challenge by Ferrer.

"I was lucky to get out of the second set, it was a big mental advantage to get two sets up," Djokovic said.

The women's semifinal matchups were completed Wednesday when former and reigning Wimbledon winners Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova both won in straight sets.

After Kvitova beat unseeded Italian Sara Errani 6-4, 6-4, Sharapova set up a repeat of last year's final at the All England Club with a 6-2, 6-3 defeat of fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova.

Kvitova beat Sharapova 6-3, 6-4 in their last Grand Slam meeting to claim her first major title.

"Obviously, it was a tough one at Wimbledon," Sharapova said. "She's full of confidence and playing the best tennis right now. I look forward to it."

Sharapova and Kvitova also kept alive their chances of claiming the top ranking, which Caroline Wozniacki will vacate on Monday after her quarterfinal loss to Kim Clijsters.

To earn the No. 1 ranking, Sharapova must repeat her 2008 Australian Open title. Kvitova only has to match or better the run of Victoria Azarenka, the only other player still in the running this week for the No. 1 spot.

Federer beat 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 Tuesday in his 1,000th tour-level match. Nadal rallied for a 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, 6-3 win over Tomas Berdych.

Their semifinal match on Thursday will be their 27th in all and 10th at a major.

It will also will be the first time Federer and Nadal have met at Melbourne Park since the Spaniard won the 2009 title in five seesawing sets. Nadal collected the trophy from the great Rod Laver after consoling Federer as he sobbed in the background.

"We are talking about a player who has won 16 Grand Slams, and I've won 10," Nadal said. "We have played a lot of matches together, many in very important moments for our careers. So the matches against him are always special, even if we are (ranked) 20 against 25."

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