Kei Nishikori of Japan celebrates after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in their semi-final match at the 2014 US Open tennis tournament in New York, September 6, 2014. [Photo/Agencies/Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports]

New YORK - Marathon man Kei Nishikori sweated out a 6-4 1-6 7-6(4) 6-3 win over world number one Novak Djokovic at a steamy US Open on Saturday to become the first Japanese man to reach a grand slam final.

In a remarkable display of endurance Nishikori followed up punishing five-set wins over third seed Stan Wawrinka and fifth seed Milos Raonic with an even more extraordinary display of grit grinding down the top ranked Djokovic in two hours, 52 minutes on a sweltering Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

With the victory, the 10th seeded Nishikori denied Djokovic a fifth straight trip to the US Open final.

The 24-year-old Japanese will now await the winner of the second semi-final between world number two and five-time US Open champion Roger Federer and 14th seed Marin Cilic.