Nishikori banking on five-set winning run to help see Djokovic off in semis

Japan's tennis ace Kei Nishikori, who battled on to beat Stanislas Wawrinka in five sets, has said that though his body was not 100 percent, it was close to feeling pretty good.

Nishikori now faces Novak Djokovic after he survived five-setters back to back, against fifth seed Milos Raonic and Wawrinka, seeded third, in the US Open, and that has given him the encouragement to believe he can do it again against the world number one.

Nishikori said that it is great for his confidence to play two five-sets straight and a lot of 7-6, and added that he was playing much better in third and fourth sets and has more confidence to get into a fifth, The Guardian reported.

Nishikori has improved in all departments of the game since taking on Michael Chang as his coach but said that his new thirst for longer matches did not spring from their partnership.

The Japanese said that it is not like he loves to play five sets, but he now has a lot of confidence to play in the fifth. He added that he has better concentration and his tennis is getting better later in a match.