Federer loses to Nishikori in Sony Open quarters

Roger Federer of Switzerland, returns a shot from Kei Nishikori of Japan, at the Sony Open Tennis tournament, Wednesday, March 26, 2014 in Key Biscayne, Fla. AP

KEY BISCAYNE, Florida—Roger Federer squandered a big lead and lost to No. 20-seeded Kei Nishikori 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the Sony Open.

Federer was up a service break twice in the second set but couldn’t close out the victory. He lost serve five times and committed 39 unforced errors.

Nishikori’s opponent Friday will be three-time champion Novak Djokovic, who benefited from an erroneous call in the pivotal game to beat Andy Murray 7-5, 6-3. The semifinal berth is Nishikori’s second in an ATP Masters 1000 tournament, and his first in two-and-a-half years.

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