Kei Nishikori advanced to the final of the Mexico Open with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 semifinal victory over South Africa's Kevin Anderson on Friday, seizing a career-high world No. 4 ranking.
Top seed Nishikori appeared to be cruising to an easy victory before the fifth-seeded South African rallied midway through the second set. After suffering an early service break in the third set, Nishikori broke back before sealing victory in 2 hours, 2 minutes.
"My opponent was strong and it became a tough match in the second set, but in the end I was able to get back on my game and grab the victory," said Nishikori, who will play Spaniard David Ferrer in the final.