Sebastian Korda reaches first ATP 500 quarterfinal, takes down Kei Nishikori in Halle

Sebastian Korda notched his 2nd win of the season on the grass by taking down Kei Nishikori 2-6 6-3 7-5.

It was a great comeback win for Korda who struggled immensely in the first set against Nishikori who was superb from the baseline. The Japanese player was painting topspin shots all across the court and Korda could not handle it initially. He struggled on his 2nd serve winning 1/5 points and losing his serve twice en route to the 2-6 loss of a set.

The 2nd set was more solid from the American who cleaned up some of his mistakes and attacked Nishikori more consistently. The key moment of the set came midway through when Korda took the 4-2 after a lengthy game that featured 7 deuces. He then saved two break points in the next to hold on to the lead.

He closed off the set with 6-3. The 3rd set was a memorable one that lasted 75 minutes as both players had chances. Nishikori saved 4 BP's while Korda saved 3. We ended up at 5-5 when Korda finally broke through taking the 6-5 lead.

He almost threw it away at the end after having a 40-15 lead. Nishikori saved two match points and carved out a break point but Korda held his nerve and closed out the match.