LONDON - Kei Nishikori overcame an arm injury to reach his first Wimbledon quarter-final on Monday with a gritty 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (12/10), 6-1 win over Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis.
The 28-year-old Nishikori is the first Japanese man to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon since Shuzo Matsuoka in 1995. His reward is a last-eight match-up against either three-time champion Novak Djokovic or unseeded Karen Khachanov of Russia. Nishikori needed lengthy treatment and a medical timeout on a right arm injury in the first set and had to save set points in the third.
Gulbis, ranked 130 and who came through qualifying, had shocked fourth seeded German Alexander Zverev in the third round. But having played three successive five-set matches in the main draw to get this far, he ran out of steam. A nasty fall, which required a medical time out on his left knee, doomed Gulbis's bid to become just the sixth qualifier to reach the last-eight at Wimbledon.
American ninth seed John Isner also reached his first Wimbledon quarter-final at the 10th attempt on Monday with a 6-4, 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (7/4) win over Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas. Isner, 33, will be playing in his first quarter-final at the majors since the 2011 US Open when he faces former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic for a semi-final spot on Wednesday. Tsitsipas was bidding to become the first ever Greek player -- man or woman -- to reach the last-eight at a Grand Slam.
Big-serving Milos Raonic fired 37 aces and 74 winners to defeat Mackenzie McDonald of the United States and reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the fourth time on Monday. The 27-year-old Canadian, who was runner-up to Andy Murray in 2016, triumphed 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2. The 13th seed won all 20 of his service games on Monday and will tackle Isner for a place in the semi-finals.
The first Japanese man to reach the #Wimbledon quarter-finals since 1995 🇯🇵 @keinishikori is through with a 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(10), 6-1 victory over Ernests Gulbis pic.twitter.com/037S8qPFF8
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2018