Nishikori sets up Djokovic battle
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, March 28, 2014
Novak Djokovic benefited from an erroneous call and claimed he didn't realize he had broken the rules. When Andy Murray walked to the net and challenged him about it, Djokovic responded with a shrug and a sheepish smile.
Murray lost the dispute, and the match. The pivotal ruling against the defending champion helped Djokovic win 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Sony Open in Key Biscayne.
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Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray after controversial call swings the first set. |
Roger Federer was up a service break twice in the second set but lost to No. 20-seeded Kei Nishikori 6-3, 5-7, 4-6. Nishikori plays Djokovic next.
The point that aggravated Murray occurred at the start of the 12th game, when he was serving at 5-6. Djokovic charged forward to volley a short ball and hit it for a winner.
Murray argued — and TV replays confirmed — he should have been awarded the point because Djokovic's racket was on the far side of the net when he hit the ball. Chair umpire Damian Steiner declined to change his call, and such rulings can't be appealed for video review.
Murray briefly discussed the matter with Djokovic.
"I went and asked Novak, and he told me he was over the net," Murray said.
"Look, it might be my mistake," Djokovic said. "I think I crossed the net with the racket. I didn't touch the net. Maybe the rule is that you are not allowed to pass on his side with the racket. I'm not sure. You tell me."
That is indeed the rule. Djokovic said that if he had understood it correctly, he would have conceded the point.
Nishikori will be playing in only his second ATP Masters 1000 semifinal, and his first in 2 1/2 years. "I thought I really played well, especially in the third set," he said. "I was hitting balls deep and striking well. Everything was going well."
Li Na became the first Chinese woman to reach the Key Biscayne semifinals when she beat Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 7-5. Li's opponent will be Dominika Cibulkova, who erased three match points in the second set — one when a call was overturned via replay — and beat Agnieszka Radwanska 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Li also beat Cibulkova in this year's Australian Open final.
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