Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori made history at the U.S. Open on Saturday, becoming the first man from Asia to make it to a Grand Slam final.
But it's not just that he made it to the finals; it's who he beat that's also getting some attention — the No. 1-ranked men's tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic.
The 10th-seeded Nishikori, 24, won in four sets in just under three hours and was quoted by reporters saying he was a "little tight." That apparently didn't stop him from pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.
Just how much of a longshot was Nishikori's win? Well, Djokovic was the obvious favorite, and a Yahoo writer pointed out that Djokovic "won here in 2011, has played in the last five finals, and has six other Grand Slam titles on his resume."
But the two had met twice before, splitting the wins. That makes this Saturday's win the second time Nishikori has taken down Djokovic.
And Nishikori went through two other highly ranked players to set up his meeting with Djokovic — No. 5 seed Milos Raonic and No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka.
Nishikori will go on to play Marin Cilic in the finals Monday. Cilic is the winner of another Saturday upset after beating No. 2 seed Roger Federer.
