Nishikori Rallies In Tokyo 2015 Monday Highlights
Watch highlights as Kei Nishikori overcomes Borna Coric. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com
Watch highlights as Kei Nishikori overcomes Borna Coric. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com
Watch Hot Shot as Andreas Haider-Maurer measures a stretch volley perfectly against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com
require([“modules/global/rolexAd”], function(RolexAd) return new RolexAd( analytics: gaCategory: “Outbound”, gaCategoryInner: “Rolex Clock”, gaClickAction: “Click”, gaToggleAction: “Toggle”, ); );
Rafael Nadal draws from past successes in the Chinese capital and hopes to make a deep run at the China Open.
Two-time champion Kei Nishikori weathered a storm Monday to secure his spot in the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships second round. The Japanese star delighted 10,000 fans at the Ariake Colosseum with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 comeback win over Borna Coric.
Nishikori, who is one match win away from his 50th victory of 2015, is battling to qualify for next month’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the second straight year. Four spots are left at the 15-22 November season finale at The O2 in London.
Coric broke Nishikori in the first and third games, dominating baseline rallies and attacking the net with great fluency. At 1-5, Nishikori saved three set points at 15/40 and Advantage, but minutes later he could not prevent Coric from wrapping up the 48-minute opener.
Nishikori found his rhythm and from a 3-1 lead in the second set clinched five straight games against his 18-year-old opponent, who is the youngest player in the Top 50 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.
Nishikori won 72 per cent of his first service points and saved eight of 10 break points for victory in two hours and eight minutes. He will next face Sam Querrey, who, playing in Tokyo for the first time since 2008, recorded his 20th match win of the season by beating Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-6(5), 6-4 in 83 minutes.
Tatsuma Ito knocked out fellow Japanese wild card Yoshihito Nishioka 3-6, 6-0, 7-5 in two hours and 20 minutes and he now waits on the winner of top seed Stan Wawrinka or Radek Stepanek, who play on Tuesday.
Unseeded Austrian Andreas Haider-Maurer scored the first major upset of the 2015 China Open in Beijing, stunning No. 8-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6(4), 6-2 to advance to the second round.
Tsonga, who was coming off his first title of the year on his home turf in Metz, France (d. Simon), was up a break and had a chance to close out the first set with his opponent serving at 3-5. But Haider-Maurer battled back to force a tie-break and was soon in control. Trailing 4-2 in the second, Tsonga called for a medical timeout, complaining of dizziness.
“It’s not really important what happened when I was a little bit dizzy,” said Tsonga, who’s now 25-13 on the year. “The most important thing for me was the start of the match and this first set I lost. The second set I didn’t play well. That’s it. Today I didn’t lose because I was dizzy, I just lost because I was bad, and that’s it.”
Tsonga, a runner-up to Novak Djokovic in Beijing in 2012, landed just 52 per cent of his first serves. Despite seven aces, he registered four double faults. Haider-Maurer, No. 64 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, won 76 per cent of his first-serve points, and converted three of four break point opportunities. This was their first career meeting.
Seventh seed David Goffin made a strong start, dismissing Andreas Seppi 6-2, 6-3 in 66 minutes. The Belgian broke serve four times from six opportunities as he claimed his 33rd win of the season. The 24-year-old Goffin is playing for the first time since leading Belgium into the Davis Cup final with victory over Argentina last month. He goes on to face another Italian, Fabio Fognini, who needed just 59 minutes to beat Martin Klizan 6-2, 6-1.
Chinese No. 1 Ze Zhang could face top seed Novak Djokovic in the second round after battling past Denis Istomin 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 to earn his third tour-level win of the season. World No. 219 Zhang reached the quarter-finals of this ATP World Tour 500 hard-court tournament in 2012 (l. to Mayer). Five-time Djokovic opens his campaign on Tuesday against Simone Bolelli.
Elsewhere, Lukas Rosol came from behind to beat qualifier Aljaz Bedene 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 in two hours and seven minutes.
It’s no wonder that Rafael Nadal feels at home on the courts of Beijing’s National Tennis Center, site of the October 5-11 China Open. It was here, after all, as a 22 year old, that the Spaniard struck Olympic gold at the 2008 Summer Games.
Much has happened since. Nadal now stands side by side with Hall of Fame great Pete Sampras on 14 Grand Slam trophies, second only to Roger Federer (17). But the memories of his gold-medal-clinching 6–3, 7–6(2), 6–3 win over Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez that year have never faded. As he prepares for the ATP World Tour 500-level event in Beijing this week, those indelible world-stage moments still serve as motivation.
“Every day is an opportunity to improve,” said Nadal, currently No. 7 in the Emirates ATP Race To London and chasing a spot in next month’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. “I take this tournament like another opportunity to play close to the way that I want to play. I have the motivation to play here at a tournament that I love. I have one of the best memories of my career in this center.”
Nadal’s third-round defeat at the hands of Italy’s Fabio Fognini this year at the US Open meant that his streak of 10 consecutive years with at least one Grand Slam crown had come to an end, his best results at the majors being quarterfinal finishes at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. But the left-hander says that he saw improvement in New York, and continues to see it in practice. And for the motivated Mallorcan, that’s all that matters.
“That is something that is important for me,” said Nadal, who is making his third straight appearance in Beijing and fifth overall. “I’m going to try my best in every single match. I going to try to do the things that I believe I need to start stronger next year.”
A career year, right? The kind that summons comparisons to the sport’s all-time greats. But even though we’re barely into October, the 28 year old insists his 2015 campaign has already surpassed it.
“Somehow I feel like this one is even better,” said Djokovic, in Beijing to defend his title at the China Open. “I just feel like a more complete person and a player. I’m a father and a husband, just different circumstances that happen in my life in the last couple of years that have helped me to enjoy all the success that I have on the tennis court even more. So 2011 was absolutely an incredible year. But I feel this year I’m enjoying it even more because I’m more, I would say, fulfilled, more complete, more mature as a person and a player.”
Djokovic, who for the second time in his career came within one major (Roland Garros) of a calendar year Grand Slam, will surely add to his 2015 numbers in the coming weeks. The World No. 1 is already 63-5 with seven titles on the year and traditionally plays some of his best tennis during the ATP World Tour’s Asian swing. He’s chasing a record sixth China Open title, and has won the Shanghai Rolex Masters in two of the past three years.
“I love playing these tournaments,” he said. “I’ve had lots of success in these two cities. The first time I came to Beijing was for the [2008] Olympic Games and I won the bronze medal. Ever since then, I’ve won five trophies here. Shanghai I won a couple times there, won the first Masters Cup. So the record that I have in these tournaments in China gives me a lot of obvious motivation to come back, a lot of great memories that I built my approach on for this year.”
Djokovic, who has already qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November, is determined to maintain his run of form through to the end of the year.
“It’s been a long season, no question about it, a lot of matches played,” he said. “But this is what I do. This is my life. I’m looking forward to perform in front of the Chinese people, who give me a lot of support over the years…The way they wait for me in front of the hotel and the club is something that I don’t experience really more or less anywhere, maybe very few places in the world.”
Djokovic will open his title defence this week against Italian qualifier Simone Bolelli, against whom he’s 4-0.
David Ferrer fights past countryman Feliciano Lopez for the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur crown, while Treat Huey and Henri Kontinen prevail in doubles. Video courtesy: Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur
It wasn’t long ago that Kei Nishikori was an integral part of a surging crop of teenagers on the ATP World Tour. Now cemented as one of the game’s elite, the Japanese opens his bid for a third Tokyo title against one of today’s brightest rising stars – 18-year-old Borna Coric.
A blockbuster matchup slated for Day One of the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, Nishikori is looking forward to his first encounter with the highest-ranked teen in the Emirates ATP Rankings and has much admiration and respect for Coric’s talent.
“We’ve never played before,” Nishikori said. “We just had one practice together last week. It’s going to be a new match, but everything is going well. He’s one of the young guys playing good tennis, so it’s going to be a dangerous match.”
Nishikori carries a 14-5 record in Tokyo, claiming two titles in the last three years. He downed Milos Raonic in both the 2012 and 2014 finals, and will look to continue his quest for a second straight Barclays ATP World Tour Finals berth with even more success on home soil. Currently sitting at No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, the Shimane native is hoping to add to his 3,770-point haul.
“It’s really fun to play on the stadium here. Even on Sunday a lot of people show up for practice. It’s great for Japanese tennis. I’m very happy to be playing here. I feel comfortable and look forward to their support tomorrow.”
Should Nishikori fight past Coric, he will face either Alexandr Dolgopolov or Sam Querrey. Other seeds in his half of the draw include No. 4 Richard Gasquet, No. 6 Marin Cilic and No. 8 Grigor Dimitrov. He opens his campaign third on Center Court, with play starting at 11:00am.