Kei Nishikori's bid for an Olympic gold medal came up short after a 6-1, 6-4 semifinal defeat to defending champion Andy Murray at the Rio Games on Saturday.
Nishikori, who had only beaten Murray once in seven previous encounters, struggled to impose himself in the face of ferocious pressure from the British world No. 2, failing to earn a single break point all match.
Nishikori will still have the chance to become the first Japanese man to win an Olympic tennis singles medal since Ichiya Kumagae at the 1920 Antwerp Games, however, when he faces Spain's Rafael Nadal in Sunday's bronze-medal match.