Kei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka made history at the US Open on Wednesday when they became the first Japanese man and woman to reach the semi-finals of the same Grand Slam.

Nishikori reached the last four of the men's singles with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-4 victory over Marin Cilic – the man who beat him in the 2014 final.

Earlier, Osaka defeated Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-1 in the semi-finals of the women's singles.

Nishikori, the 21st seed, will take on either 13-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic or 55th-ranked Australian John Millman for a place in the final.

The 29-year-old has also reached the quarter-finals of the three other Slams including Wimbledon this year, the first Japanese man to do so in 23 years.

Nishikori stunned then-world number one Djokovic in the semi-finals in 2014 to become the first man from an Asian country to reach the championship match of a major.

But he hasn't returned to a Grand Slam final since, falling in the US Open semis in 2016.

Ranked as high as fourth in the world in 2015, Nishikori made a cautious return to competition early this year, finally finding enough confidence and consistency to put together a quarter-final run at Wimbledon.

Against Cilic he labored for four hours and eight minutes.

"It was really tough, especially in the end I was up 3-2 and he came back – I don't know why but it's always a battle with Marin," said Nishikori, who stretched his career record over the seventh-seeded Croatian to 9-6.

The 20-year-old Osaka is the first Japanese woman to make the last-four of any Slam since Kimiko Date at Wimbledon in 1996 – a year before she was born.

Osaka had reached the Australian Open last-16 in January in her previous best run at the majors.

She had also captured the prestigious Indian Wells title in March and defeated Serena Williams in Miami.

Osaka celebrated her win calmly and coolly unlike the floods of tears which greeted her last-16 victory over Aryna Sabalenka.

"I cried a lot last time and there were lots of people making fun of me. So this time I went straight to the net. I was freaking out inside and my whole body was shaking but overall I am most proud of not breaking a racquet," Osaka said.

Next up for Osaka will be the winner of the evening match between 2017 runner-up Madison Keys, who at 14 is the highest seed left in the women’s draw, and Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro.

The speedy win over Tsurenko was the third time Osaka has wrapped up victory in under an hour in New York and should allow her to be fresh for Thursday's semi-final.

(With input from agencies)