Kei Nishikori's epic comeback effort in the French Open quarterfinals fell short on Tuesday, when he lost 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 to local favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France at a raucous center court.
With his impressive wingspan, the 188-cm Tsonga was more than able to defend Nishikori's passing shots, while constantly posing problems with superb drop shots and power serves.
Facing that challenge, Nishikori needed to be solid. But through most of the first two sets, he was anything but and was on the verge of being blown out in his first career quarterfinal on Roland Garros' iconic red clay. The world No. 5 found his normal game and fought back to even the match, but ultimately crashed out in five sets.