RIO DE JANEIRO ¨C Kei Nishikori came back from the dead to reach the semifinals at the Rio Olympics after an epic 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 7-6 (8-6) win over France¡¯s Gael Monfils on Friday.
World No. 7 Nishikori found himself facing three match points after world No. 11 Monfils raced into a 6-3 lead in the decisive tiebreaker, only to dig himself out of the hole and book a showdown with defending champion Andy Murray in Saturday¡¯s semifinal.
¡°I thought I had nothing to lose from 6-3 down,¡± said Nishikori, who is aiming to win his first Olympic medal in three attempts. ¡°I knew that my concentration wasn¡¯t there from the beginning of the tiebreak so I tried to play a little more aggressive.¡±

With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.