Tennis: Kei Nishikori grinds out win over Cilic in Japan Open 1st round
Source: The Mainichi
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Host country favorite Kei Nishikori rolled back the years with a vintage performance to beat Croatia’s Marin Cilic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round at the Japan Open tennis championships Thursday.
In a rematch of the 2014 U.S. Open final won by Cilic, former world No. 4 Nishikori claimed a key break in the sixth game of the final set for a 4-2 lead and held on in front of a sold-out crowd at Ariake Colosseum.
Nishikori, a two-time Japan Open champion, converted three of his seven break points, while Cilic broke twice, both in the second set.
“I’m relieved to have gone through,” the 34-year-old said. “I started the match pretty well and managed to raise my game toward the end. With the support of fans, I feel like I’m gradually getting back to my form.”
Cilic came to Tokyo on a high note after winning the Hangzhou Open in China earlier this week to become the lowest-ranked tournament winner in ATP Tour history at No. 777.
Nishikori and Cilic entered the match ranked 200th and 212th, respectively.
“Shortly before the match, I got really nervous when I heard about the sold-out crowd,” said Nishikori, who has been plagued by a series of injuries in recent years.
This is Nishikori’s first Japan Open appearance in six years.
Nishikori grabbed two match points when former world No. 3 Cilic hit a backhand into the net and sealed it on the second.
Also on the second day of the hard-court ATP 500 event, top-seeded American Taylor Fritz and fourth-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas crashed out in the first round.
France’s Arthur Fils defeated this year’s U.S. Open runner-up Fritz 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Defending champion Ben Shelton rallied from a set down to defeat fellow American Reilly Opelka 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, while Japanese wild card Yoshihito Nishioka outlasted Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(5).
The original article: belongs to The Mainichi .
