Nishikori and Karatsev win in five, Brooksby battles past Fritz

There were seven five-setters in the top half of the men’s singles draw at the U.S. Open on Tuesday. When those same players took the court on Thursday, three more matches went the distance.

One of them involved Kei Nishikori, who outlasted Mackenzie McDonald 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-7(5), 2-6, 6-3 in an evening match on Court 17.

Despite dropping the third and fourth sets and also trailing by a break early in the fifth, Nishikori righted the ship to eventually clinch victory after three hours and 57 minutes.

The Japanese veteran’s reward is a showdown with world No. 1 and familiar foe Novak Djokovic. Their head-to-head series stands at a dominant 17-2 in Djokovic’s favor after the Serb most recently dominated 6-2, 6-0 at the Tokyo Olympics. Nishikori has lost 16 in a row since upsetting Djokovic in the 2014 U.S. Open semifinals.

“I actually do…in my phone,” Djokovic joked when asked if he has Nishikori’s number, before continuing, “I don’t have anyone’s number on the court until I win.

“We played many times; I have a very good score against him. I lost I think last time here in New York in the semis in 2014. Historically I think his most successful Grand Slam is here. He’s one of the quickest and most-talented players that I’ve seen in my lifetime–in my career. But I know his game well. We played in the Olympic Games. I know [what to expect]. I look forward to a good challenge.”

“Obviously I love the challenge,” Nishikori commented. “It’s not something I love to play all the time because, I mean, obviously he’s the toughest opponent. I (would) rather have someone ranked lower. Even though I have a bad record, I always try to be positive.

“I’m sure it’s going to be a tough one, but I (will) do my best.”

No Thursday matches lasted longer than Aslan Karatsev vs. Jordan Thompson and Jenson Brooksby vs. Taylor Fritz.

Karatsev saved two match points in a wild fourth-set tiebreaker before outlasting Thompson 3-6, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(9), 6-1 in four hours and 44 minutes. The Brooksby-Fritz match also surpassed the four-hour mark even though it only required four sets, with the younger American triumphing 6-7(7), 7-6(10), 7-5, 6-2.

Karatsev and Brooksby will now face each other for a spot in the second week of the year’s final major. It’s a rematch of the French Open first round from earlier this season–won by the Kazakh in straight sets.

“I played him at the French and I’m sure we’ll go over the game-plan of what to learn from when the time comes,” Brooksby commented. “It’s the third round and I feel like I can keep pushing it further. I’m excited to get out there again and see what I can keep bringing.”