Murray nails Nishikori for fifth major semi in succession

By Bill Scott Jan 25, 2012, 7:16 GMT

Melbourne - Two-time finalist Andy Murray buried the upset dream of Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 on Wednesday at the Australian Open to reach a fifth consecutive Grand Slam semi-final.

Fourth seed Murray is desperate to end a title drought at the majors after losing the 2008 US Open final and the last two at Melbourne Park.

Nishikori, ranked 26th, the highest ever for a Japanese man, had the hopes of a nation riding on his shoulders in the biggest match of his career but paid the price against the on-form Scot, who has yet to lose a match since taking on former great Ivan Lendl as his coach three weeks ago.

Murray will play the winner of a quarter-final between top seed Novak Djokovic and Spanish retriever David Ferrer, the fifth seed.

The Scot advanced to victory in two and a quarter hours over Nishikori with 36 winners and breaks on seven of 18 opportunities in the roller-coaster confrontation.

'It was a good match. He won most of the fun points,' Murray said. 'That's why I tried to keep them as short as possible.

He fought well but I played better in the third set. He's had a lot of long matches. I need to serve better, but I'm pleased with my returning.'

The women moved ahead into their semis, with Petra Kvitova and Russian Maria Sharaova poised for a repeat of their 2011 Wimbledon final won by the Czech.

The match will also be of prime importance in the fight to succeed Caroline Wozniacki on world number one, with both players plus third seed Victoria Azarenka all in with a chance to take the lead WTA role at the end of the event.

Kvitova reached her first Melbourne semi-final 6-4, 6-4 over Italian Sara Errani. Fourth seed Sharapova needed four match points to beat fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-3. The second semi-final pits holder Kim Clijsters against Azarenka after both advanced on Tuesday.

'I thought she was going to play really well today coming off a big win, probably her biggest in her career,' Sharapova said of Makarova, who put out Serena Williams. 'It was just really important for me to not give her much of a look at the open court.

'I just really wanted to take advantage of my game and improve from the previous match. I think I stepped up when I had to.'

Kvitova recovered from 1-4 down in the second set to run out the victory over Errani.

'In the beginning, I was a little nervous because I knew that everybody expected it to be an easy match,' the Czech said. 'Sara played very well. She's had a great tournament here. It was not really an easy match.

'I had to wait for the time to go for winners. The mistakes were really lower in the second set. That was the key.'