Kei Nishikori crashed out of the U.S. Open on Friday, losing his third-round match against Australia’s Alex de Minaur.
The seventh-seeded Nishikori, still searching for his maiden Grand Slam title, suffered a 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 defeat to world No. 38 de Minaur in the year’s final major.
“He was playing great defense and I ended up making many errors. I think that is the main reason why I lost,” said Nishikori, ranked No. 7 in the world.
De Minaur claimed his first win over a top-10 player and advanced to the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
“Going into this match, I talked to my team and we had a game plan. I’m very happy I was able to execute that game plan and play some good tennis,” he said. “I fought very hard in certain points and I’m happy that I could finally get my first top-10 win.”