Raonic stuns Murray in Japan Open semis; Nishikori prevails

Milos Raonic of Canada outsted top-seeded Andy Murray to move into the final of the Japan Open, edging the defending champion 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-4) on Saturday.

One more to go: Kei Nishikori lifts his arms in triumph after beating Marcos Baghdatis 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals of the Japan Open on Saturday. AP

Raonic, seeded sixth and ranked 15th, will meet Kei Nishikori in Sunday's final after he routed unseeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 6-2, 6-2 in just over one hour.

Nishikori, ranked 17th, defeated Baghdatis for the first time after having lost three previous matches to the Cypriot.

Nishikori and Raonic will play for the first time in the final, with the Japanese seeking his first title of the season.

Nishikori is the first Japanese to advance to the final since the event was sanctioned by the ATP in 1973.

"I can't believe it, to be honest," said Nishikori, who lost in the first round the last two years. "I haven't had great results here and I was struggling up until now."

"Playing in Japan means a lot to me. I don't think I've ever been this happy in my career. Winning a title in Japan has always been a career goal of mine."

Eighth seed Nishikori was in control from start to finish on this day.

He broke Baghdatis, once ranked eighth in the world, in the third game to take a 2-1 lead and won another break point at 5-2 to win the first set.

In the second set, Nishikori jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back to move into his first final of the year. Nishikori said his returns will be key against Raonic, who he will play for the first time.

"I think he has the best serve on the tour," Nishikori said. "Murray has the best return on the tour, but even he still won only 18 percent of points on the first serve."

Playing under a blazing sun at Ariake Colosseum, the big-hitting Raonic broke Murray in the opening game of the match, then used his strong serve and powerful forehand to go up 5-3, before breaking again to claim the set 6-3.

The Olympic champion looked sluggish from the outset and had to save two break points to hold serve for 1-1 in the second set.

After Raonic held to go up 3-2, a frustrated Murray broke his racket by smashing it on the court.

The were no breaks of serve in the second set, and the contest proceeded to a tiebreak, where Raonic misplayed a volley to give Murray a 6-5 lead and then couldn't handle a Murray forehand that gave him the tiebreak 7-5, squaring the contest.

Murray turned the tide in his favor in the third set by breaking Raonic with a sublime backhand down the line to move ahead 3-1. Murray made it 4-1 on serve and looked to be in control, only to see Raonic break back for 4-3 and then hold for 4-4.

Murray held to go up 5-4 and then had two match points on Raonic's served in the 10th game, but could not capitalize as the Canadian held to send it to another tiebreak.

Raonic took control in the tiebreak and finished it 7-5.

"Live and die by the serve. I'm not afraid to go for it on my second serve. I know what I am capable of," Raonic said.

Murray and Raonic had split their two previous career meetings, both this year. Raonic beat Murray on clay at the Barcelona Open, while Murray knocked Raonic out of the U.S. Open in the fourth round.

"The first set was poor from my side," said Murray. "I played better in the second and third sets, but it was a disappointment not to close out the match. It came down to one or two points in the end."

BEIJING — Zhang Ze said he took inspiration from Grand Slam-winner Li Na after a record-breaking run which raised hopes that China's struggling men could finally emerge from the shadows of their female tennis stars.

In control: Kei Nishikori plays a return against Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in Saturday's Japan Open semifinals. Nishikori won 6-2, 6-2. KYODO

The world No. 165 made history this week when he became the first Chinese man ever to beat a top-20 player, with a three-set win over Richard Gasquet that put him into the quarterfinals of the China Open.

His defeat of the Frenchman, ranked 14th, also meant China's top player has gotten further in an ATP tournament than any other Chinese man in 17 years, after Pan Bing made the Seoul semifinals in 1995.

After his campaign was halted by Florian Mayer on Friday, the 22-year-old right-hander from Nanjing was quick to name 2011 French Open champion Li, Asia's only singles Grand Slam winner, as his guiding light.

"Li Na is our example, as a role (model)," he said, adding that his next goal was to become the first Chinese man to break into the top 100.

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Nishikori advances to Japan Open quarterfinals

Kei Nishikori battled from a set down to defeat Spain's Tommy Robredo on Thursday and book a quarterfinal meeting with second seed and 2008 champion Tomas Berdych at the Japan Open.

Staying aggressive: Kei Nishikori plays a return against Tommy Robredo in the Japan Open on Thursday in Tokyo. Nishikori, the eighth seed, beat the Spaniard 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals. KYODO

Eighth-seeded Nishikori, who made his first semifinal finish of the season in Malaysia last weekend, prevailed 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 in front of a partisan home crowd to reach the last eight for the first time in five attempts.

Nishikori, who has fallen in the first round the past two years here, dropped his serve in the opening game and failed to capitalize on a number of chances, allowing unseeded Robredo to break again in the 11th game before holding on to take the first set at Ariake Colosseum.

But the 22-year-old stormed back, racing to a 3-0 lead and acing out to take the second set, before going on to complete victory in a little under two hours on center court.

"I am seeded in this tournament, so I am expected to come this far anyway, but I'm happy and relieved that I have got through to the next round. I am looking forward to doing better," said Nishikori.

Nishikori said defense will be the key against Berdych, who he holds a 2-1 record against but lost to in their most recent meeting in Monte Carlo.

"His play suits this surface and he has won this tournament before. He serves well and has got a flat, very effective forehand. Defense will be the key and I can't allow Berdych to find his rhythm because that would be very difficult to break."

Earlier, world No. 6 Berdych captured his 50th ATP Tour victory of the season in 80 minutes on a warm afternoon, beating Colombian Alejandro Falla 6-3, 7-5.

Winner of his seventh career title at Montpellier in February, the Czech uncorked three superb backhand winners en route to breaking Falla and taking a 4-2 lead before going on to serve out the first set.

Berdych reeled off back-to-back aces to make it 4-4 in the second set after Falla had threatened to break his serve. He got the crucial break in the 11th game with another pinpoint backhand before closing out with his ninth ace of the match.

"I was feeling much, much better physically than in my first match and I was able to profit from that," said Berdych, who opened with a 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) win over Frenchman Benoit Paire.

Looking ahead to Friday's quarterfinal, he said, "Nishikori is one for the future. He is playing at home, which is always a good advantage, and will give him extra motivation, but nothing changes for me. I will try to play my best tennis and see what happens."

Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus knocked out fourth seed Juan Monaco of Argentina 7-5, 1-6, 6-3. He will next play either Tatsuma Ito or Russian qualifier Dmitry Tursunov.

In the day's opening match on center court, third-seeded Serbian Janko Tipsarevic disposed of Swiss qualifier Marco Chiudinelli 6-4, 6-2.

Tipsarevic will play sixth seed Milos Raonic of Canada in the next round. Raonic won his match against Viktor Troicki after the Serb retired at 3-0 down in the first set with a calf injury.

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Nishikori expects tough challenge in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR — Kei Nishikori, Asia's top player, will face a tough fight in the ATP Tour's Malaysian Open which begins on Monday.

Nishikori, the third seed for the event at the Putra Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, is joined in draw by the in-form world No. 5 and top seed David Ferrer of Spain, and world No. 11 Juan Monaco from Argentina, the second seed.

Rising star Nishikori, the world No. 17, receives a bye into the second round of the 28-player tournament as one of the top four seeds.

But lying in wait for Nishikori, who reached the last four in 2011, is a likely semifinal against Monaco and, should he win that, a potential final against Ferrer.

Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, ranked 19th in the world, completes the top four seeds.

"I was a losing semifinalist last year, and even then, it was difficult just to reach the top four," Nishikori said on Saturday.

"That shows how difficult this tournament is. I hope to do better this year, but there are three tough players to contend with. We shall see how it goes."

Nishikori said recently in Singapore that he needed to emulate U.S. Open champion Andy Murray's new aggressive style of play if he is to challenge the top players in the men's game.

Spaniard Ferrer is enjoying the best season of his life. He has won five titles on the ATP tour in 2012, reached Grand Slam semifinals at the U.S. and French Opens and the made quarterfinals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Ferrer took a week off after leading Spain into the Davis Cup final with victory over the Czech Republic in Gijon last Sunday.

Monaco is making his Malaysian Open debut but comes to Kuala Lumpur with three 2012 ATP Tour victories under his belt.

Brian Baker of the U.S., the world No. 62 who made a remarkable comeback in 2011 after six years out with multiple injuries that required five surgeries, also plays in the event which has a prize purse of $947,750.

SEOUL — Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki beat injury-plagued Kaia Kanepi 6-1, 6-0 Sunday to win the KDB Korea Open.

Wozniacki from Denmark needed only about one hour to defeat the third-seeded Kanepi of Estonia to win the tournament on Seoul's Olympic Park hard courts. It was Wozniacki's 19th career WTA victory.

She defeated Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 in the semifinals while Kanepi advanced the finals after beating Varvara Lepchenko of the United States 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

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Nishikori still plans to play in China

Kei Nishikori has signaled his intention to play in the Shanghai Masters next month despite simmering political tensions between Japan and China triggered by a dispute over the Senkaku Islands.

"No, it should be fine," Nishikori was quoted by Reuters as saying when asked if he had any qualms about heading to Shanghai.

"I don't want to get too much into it as my job is playing tennis and doing my best on the court. Anything can happen, but hopefully not," added the 22-year-old tennis player, who reached the last eight of the Australian Open this year.

On Wednesday, London Olympic silver medalist Kasumi Ishikawa withdrew from the table tennis Women's World Cup to be held in Huangshi, China, after organizers were unable to guarantee her safety amid pervasive anti-Japanese sentiment in the country.

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Nishikori earns 19th seed for Wimbledon

LONDON — Kei Nishikori was named Wednesday as the 19th seed for the men's draw at Wimbledon this year, making him the first Japanese men's seed at the grasscourt Grand Slam since the current world ranking system was introduced in 1973.

The draw will take place Friday for the June 25-July 8 championships at the All England Club.

Nishikori, ranked 20th in the world, was the first seeded Japanese man in a Grand Slam as the 24th seed at the Australian Open in January.

He 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 bowed out with defeat to Britain's Andy Murray in the last eight.

The 22-year-old was forced to miss the French Open due to injury.

Defending men's champion Novak Djokovic and French Open winner Maria Sharapova were named as top seeds for Wimbledon.

On the men's side, Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Murray rounded out the top four while defending women's champion Petra Kvitova was seeded fourth.

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Nishikori pulls out of French Open

PARIS — Kei Nishikori pulled out of the French Open on Tuesday having failed to recover from a stomach injury, the world No. 18 revealed on his Facebook page.

The 22-year-old made history earlier this year when he became the first Japanese man to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals, but his preparations for Paris were effected by the injury he suffered in Barcelona in April.

He was subsequently forced to skip the Madrid and Rome Masters.

"I am very disappointed that I won't be able to play in Paris this year," said Nishikori.

"Following the last Grand Slam, I was looking forward to playing in the second Grand Slam of the year. I will continue my rehab and plan to be back on the Tour as early as I can."

Nishikori is the second top 20 player to pull out of the French Open after American No. 10 Mardy Fish opted not to play because of fatigue.

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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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Djokovic thrashes Mahut; Nishikori reaches round of 16

MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic gave Nicolas Mahut one lousy birthday present.

The top-seeded Djokovic routed the Frenchman 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 on Saturday to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open. He needed only 1 hour, 14 minutes to dismiss the newly 30-years-old Mahut, who lost the longest match in Grand Slam history over 11 hours, 5 minutes against John Isner at Wimbledon in 2010.

"I wish him happy birthday and hopefully tonight he can enjoy it," Djokovic said.

The defending champion is aiming to become the fifth man in the Open era to win three consecutive major titles. He will play the winner of a later match between Milos Raonic and Lleyton Hewitt in the fourth round.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, whom Djokovic beat at Melbourne Park for his first Grand Slam title in 2008, also hardly broke sweat in beating Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

Kei Nishikori, meanwhile, advanced to the round of 16 of the Australian Open for the first time in his career with a four-set victory over Frenchman Julien Benneteau.

Nishikori dropped the first set 6-4 but took the next three 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 in a third-round match that lasted nearly 3 hours, 30 minutes.

The 22-year-old will next play sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, whom he defeated in a warmup event in Melbourne last week.

"I'm so happy to win," said Nishikori. "I'm glad I was able to win a close match, especially after my opponent had taken control of the match early."

Nishikori became the first Japanese man to win three matches in the main draw of the Australian Open since Jiro Sato in 1932. He has reached the last 16 in a Grand Slam tournament for the second time and first since the 2008 U.S. Open.

"My opponent was very aggressive, but I tried to find a way to turn the tables," Nishikori said. "I just had to focus on one point at a time."

On the women's side, two Wimbledon winners — Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova — advanced, but two top 10 players went out.

Seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva was beaten 7-6 (9-7), 6-1 by fellow Russian Ekaterina Makerova. No. 9 Marion Bartoli lost 6-3, 6-3 to Zheng Jie of China, a former Australian Open semifinalist.

Sharapova was tested for the first time and still came out with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Germany's Angelique Kerber.

The 2008 champion won her first two matches 6-0, 6-1 and has lost five games in reaching the fourth round, but though the scoreline on Saturday made it look easy enough, Sharapova was given a full workout in a 56-minute second set, with many games going to deuce.

After clinching the victory with a forehand winner, Sharapova showed her relief by clenching her fist and screeching "come on!"

"She certainly stepped up in the second set," Sharapova said. "She reached the semifinals at the U.S. Open last year so she's been on the big stage before and I knew she could produce some really good tennis."

She next plays No. 14 Sabine Lisicki, who beat two-time major winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Sharapova and Kvitova both have a chance of claiming the No. 1 ranking at the end of the tournament. They could play each other in the semifinals, although Kvitova insisted she hasn't looked that far ahead.

"I don't know who lost and who win," the Wimbledon champion said. "No, really, for me doesn't care."

Kvitova reached the round of 16 when Maria Kirilenko retired with a left thigh injury while trailing 6-0, 1-0 after 38 minutes of their third-round match.

Kvitova next faces Ana Ivanovic, who beat unseeded American Vania King 6-3, 6-4 to reach the fourth round for the first time since she reached the final here in 2008.

That was the same year the 24-year-old Serb won the French Open for her only Grand Slam title, and also claimed the top ranking.

Also Saturday, Serena Williams was so dominant in her 6-1, 6-1 third-round win over Greta Arn that there's probably only one shot she'll remember more than most.

At 5-0 and a point from the first set, Williams lined up in the ideal position for overhead but then completely shanked it, spraying the ball wide. She screamed and put a hand over her face.

Arn saved another set point before holding serve for the first time. Williams responded by winning the next five games before Arn held again. The match ended in 59 minutes, on consecutive double-faults by Arn.

In the women's doubles second round, Ayumi Morita and Rika Fujiwara outlasted Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, coming back from 5-2 down in the final set.

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Stosur bundled out in first round; Nishikori wins in rout

MELBOURNE, Australia — U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur crashed out in the first round of the Australian Open in straight sets Tuesday in a crushing blow for local fans desperate to end a long drought at the national championship.

Sixth-seeded Stosur lost 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 to No. 59-ranked Sorana Cirstea of Romania to continue her terrible run on home soil since beating Serena Williams to capture her first Grand Slam title in New York last September.

Stosur has had one win in three tournaments on home soil in 2012.

She saved three match points while serving to stay in the match, but finally lost it when her looping forehand drifted over the baseline to hush the Rod Laver Arena crowd on the second day of the tournament.

No Australian has won the national title since Chris O'Neil in 1978.

Stosur's first-round loss mirrors that of Petra Kvitova, who went out in the first round of last year's U.S. Open after winning Wimbledon.

"I'm not sure if it's one of my biggest matches, but it feels like that now," said Cirstea, who had lost both her previous matches against Stosur.

"Probably the whole country hates me now."

Novak Djokovic won the men's U.S. Open, one of his three Grand Slam titles in 2011. Anyone who didn't know it only had to look at his shoes on Tuesday — if his emphatic first-round win wasn't evidence enough.

Djokovic started his Australian Open defense with a 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 win over Paolo Lorenzi of Italy, wearing a pair of red-white-and-blue shoes with images of his three major trophies on the sides and a Serbian flag on the heels.

He gave up an early break but immediately broke back at love as he won the next 17 games, saving a break point in the opening game of the second set.

"It was a great performance for (my) first official match of the 2012 season," said the top-ranked Djokovic, whose only loss at a Grand Slam tournament last year was in the French Open semifinals.

He changed his buildup for the Australian Open this year, deciding not to play any warm-up tournaments. He was confident it wouldn't harm his chances.

"I'm nowadays a more complete player. I feel physically I'm stronger, I move better. I serve better," he said. "Especially having 2011 the way I had, this gives me more confidence."

Kei Nishikori became an instant celebrity in Japan when he finally broke through last year to top Shuzo Matsuoka's career-high ranking of No. 46 — the highest ever achieved by a Japanese man.

Nishikori had been nicknamed "Project 45" in honor of his quest to beat the ranking. Now that he's cracked the top 30 — he reached a high of No. 24 last year — Nishikori might soon get a new nickname back home: "Project Grand Slam."

Nishikori, seeded for the first time at a Grand Slam, beat Stephane Robert of France 6-1, 7-6 (9-7), 6-0 in the first round, needing just 19 minutes to capture the opening set and 27 minutes to take the third.

Japanese women have featured in the top 10, with Kimiko Date-Krumm reaching a career-high No. 4 when she made the French Open semifinals in 1995, but the country's male players have been slow to emulate the success.

The red-and-white-clad Japanese fans packing the stands on Court 6 may not have been as boisterous as the Aussies on adjacent courts, but they showed enough enthusiasm, waving Japanese flags and holding signs saying "Go Kei Go!"

Hisayuki Isogai said watching Nishikori play was the main reason he made the trip from Japan.

"He's the first Japanese player to reach the top 30 and for a long time nobody could achieve that," Isogai said. "Tennis is a big sport in Japan since he's appeared."

Now, there are expectations he can best another Matsuoka mark — the best result for a Japanese man at a Grand Slam. Matsuoka reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 1995; Nishikori's best result is the fourth round of the U.S. Open in 2008.

Does he feel any added pressure in Melbourne?

"Never. Never feel the pressure. Maybe, you know, my ranking is 25 or 26. That gives me a little bit of pressure because I feel like I have to win with these guys," he said. "I have to play with lower ranked guys now."

On the women's side, second-ranked Kvitova and No. 4 Maria Sharapova advanced with lopsided wins.

After surrendering her opening service game with a double-fault, Kvitova won 12 consecutive games in a 6-2, 6-0 win over Russia's Vera Dushevina.

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Nishikori secures Aussie Open seed

LONDON — Kei Nishikori is set to become the first seeded Japanese player in a Grand Slam tournament since the current world ranking system was introduced in 1973.

Nishikori moved down a place to 26th in the latest rankings released Monday but is among the top 32 players who will be seeded in the Australian Open starting Jan. 16. The draw is scheduled for Friday.

Nishikori began 2011 at 98th and climbed to a career-high 24th in early November, the highest rank ever held by a Japanese man, after upsetting world No. 1 Novak Djokovic to reach the Swiss Indoors final.

In last year's Australian Open, Nishikori lost to Spain's Fernando Verdasco in the third round.

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Nishikori defeated by Baghdatis

Brisbane, Australia — Kei Nishikori bowed out in the second round of the Brisbane International on Wednesday, losing to Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 6-3, 6-4.

Nishikori, led 3-1 in the second set but lost the next four games in the ATP Tour season-opening event.

"I just couldn't find my rhythm," Nishikori said. "He played aggressively and outplayed me. I failed to get my returns deep. I was behind throughout the match."

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Nishikori reaches Eastbourne semis

Eastbourne England — Kei Nishikori advanced to the semifinals of the AEGON International, a final grass-court tuneup for Wimbledon, with a morale-boosting 6-2, 6-3 victory Thursday over Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.

Against the player who routed top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the previous round, Nishikori converted five of 10 break points while saving nine of 11 break points on his serve.

"I feel good about my tennis this week," Nishikori said. "I played two good matches today. On grass, I was making a lot of unforced errors from the baseline until last year. But I've been hitting the ball patiently and winning points this year."

The 21-year-old, ranked 59th in the world, will next play third-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia.

Earlier Thursday, Nishikori beat Germany's Rainer Schuettler 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in his second-round match that had been suspended by rain Wednesday.

The Wimbledon Championships are scheduled for June 20-July 3.

Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam event in which Nishikori has not won a match.

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Nishikori comes up short in final

HOUSTON (AP) Ryan Sweeting made sure he didn't get too far ahead of himself in the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship final — and ended up leaving Kei Nishikori behind.

"I feel in the past I'd see the finish line and I'd start thinking about that," Sweeting said after beating Nishikori 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) on Sunday for his first ATP World Tour title. "I didn't think about the end result today. In the tiebreaker, I just tried to play each point."

The 23-year-old American became the fifth first-time winner on the ATP tour this year and the first U.S. Clay Court wild-card champion since Mardy Fish in 2006.

"I think I'm most happy the way I performed under pressure in my first final," Sweeting said. "I stayed calm and stayed focused. I didn't let the moment get to me which in past performances I have."

Sweeting, from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., turned pro in 2007 and had never reached an ATP semifinal until this week. He fell to the court in jubilation and fatigue after the hard-fought second set and later took a cannon ball victory dive into the River Oaks Country Club pool.

Sweeting had to show his mettle before the tiebreaker.

Trailing 5-4 in the second set, Sweeting served in the 10th game and had to overcome three set points before holding on a lob error by Nishikori that fell behind the line. The game lasted for 26 points.

"It was a good hold, it gave me a little bit of momentum going into the rest of the set and made it tougher on him," Sweeting said. "He's a competitor and he won't stop until the last point.

The tiebreaker got tight when Sweeting double-faulted to bring the score to a 3-3 tie. Two errors by Nishikori and a forehand volley winner by Sweeting brought it to match point and it ended when Nishikori's forehand skipped wide.

Nishikori was trying to win the tournament to give inspiration to his tsunami-torn country.

Nishikori has a website that auctions donated items from players with all profit going to the tsunami victims in Japan. Items include a shoe worn by Maria Sharapova and a tennis racket signed by John McEnroe. A tennis shirt worn by Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open has surpassed $5,200 in bidding.

Nishikori almost pulled off a comeback late in the second set.

"I wasn't aggressive enough," Nishikori said. "I really wanted to win but I think he deserved it today. He played well, better."

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