dang nhap fun88在线购彩Nishikori rallies to overcome tough Rotterdam opener

Nishikori rallies to overcome tough Rotterdam opener

Kei Nishikori. — Photo supersport.com

Tennis

ROTTERDAM — Top seed Kei Nishikori was tested by a stubborn opponent before finally putting away Pierre-Hugues Herbert  三- 六,  六- 一,  六- 四 on Tuesday at the Rotterdam Open.

The Japanese world number seven needed an hour and a quarter to get on track against a player who had reached the Montpellier final barely  四 八 hours earlier against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Nishikori finally earned his first break well into the evening, taking a  三- 一 lead in the second set after dropping the first.

That opened the floodgates, with Asia’s top player quickly finding his recovery mode to run out the tight first-round victory after two hours and  一0 minutes, saving break points as he served out the win.

Nishikori could not have asked for a more difficult Rotterdam debut as he faced the  三 六th-ranked Frenchman.

"It wasn’t easy, as he was playing good tennis and serving well,"大众Nishikori said.

"I had a little bit of trouble with my return game and couldn’t convert the important points.

"I just tried to play steady, as I wasn’t playing bad. I tried to stay aggressive."

Victory sent Nishikori to  九- 一 this season after starting  二0 一 九 with a Brisbane title and an Australian Open quarter-final appearance.

He was forced to quit his match in Melbourne against Novak Djokovic in the second set due to a knee problem, cured by rest over the past two weeks in Florida.

Nishikori next faces Ernests Gulbis, who beat Marius Copil  六- 二,  六- 四 in a battle of qualifying lucky losers.

"He’s not easy, especially indoors where he uses his great serve and aggressive play really well.

"I just need to stay focused and get used to the conditions a little bit more,"大众Nishikori said.

Raonic, Shapovalov advance

Milos Raonic and Denis Shapovalov scored a first-round double for Canada, with both powering ahead in straight sets.

Raonic, the fourth seed, fought past German Philipp Kohlschreiber  七- 六 ( 一0/ 八),  七- 五 on the back of  二 一 aces.

Shapovalov, seeded  一0th, defeated Croatian Franko Skugor  七- 五,  六- 三. Raonic had to work to get past a  二0 一 六 semi-finalist at the Ahoy stadium.

The Canadian set up a second-round meeting with Stan Wawrinka, whom he beat in an Australian Open marathon last month.

"It will be a tough match, especially after we went four tiebreakers over four hours in Melbourne,"大众Raonic said. "It will be important for me to be disciplined and continue to play well.

"I might need to change a few things from the last match. Hopefully I can execute well."

Raonic has beaten Wawrinka - a former Rotterdam winner - in their last three meetings. The Swiss is putting the final polish on his game as he completes a return from two knee operations in August  二0 一 七.

Shapovalov dominated Croatian qualifier Skugor in their first-time meeting as both made Rotterdam debuts.

Gael Monfils earned an upset of Belgian eighth seed David Goffin  七- 六 ( 七/ 五),  七- 五, while former champion Tomas Berdych beat Frenchman Gilles Simon  七- 六 ( 一0/ 八),  六- 四. — AFP