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."