Kei Nishikori

[arti]

Two-time former champion Kei Nishikori knocked out #NextGenATP Canadian No. 16 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-3 in 84 minutes. The fourth-seeded Japanese star will next play Spanish lucky loser Roberto Carballes Baena, who beat Chile’s Cristian Garin, winner of the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship title earlier this month, 6-4, 7-6(2) in one hour and 55 minutes.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/thiem-n ... 9-thursday

[arti]

[arti]

Kei Nishikori on Friday kept alive his hopes of earning a third Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell title, battling past home favourite Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4, 7-5 to reach the semi-finals.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/medvede ... 019-friday

[Lucas]

How Clay Aided Kei Nishikori's Resurgence

Spoiler:

Entering the 2018 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Kei Nishikori had won just four tour-level matches all year. The Japanese star was 36th in the ATP Rankings, still recovering from a wrist injury.

But Nishikori reached his second clay-court ATP Masters 1000 final at that tournament, defeating Top 5 players Marin Cilic and Alexander Zverev along the way. That served as a springboard, as he qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals and returned to the world’s Top 10.

“Playing the clay-court season, I started getting more confidence and more feel for the ball,” Nishikori said in his ATP My Story delivered by FedEx. “I started playing better on clay. I think there were more rallies and more hitting. Beating Tomas Berdych, Cilic and Sascha, those great players [in Monte-Carlo], I got more confidence and since then I’ve been more confident and playing much better.”

Nishikori, who is into the semi-finals this week at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, has long been successful on clay. While he has won 10 of his 12 ATP Tour titles on hard courts, Nishikori has a higher winning percentage on clay.


According to his FedEx ATP Win/Loss Record, the 29-year-old has won 71.3 per cent of his clay-court matches compared to 68.2 per cent on hard courts. Nishikori currently ranks fifth among active players on the surface, and 25th in the Open Era.

“I played many matches before and I think maybe the clay courts helped a little bit with more time and more rhythm,” Nishikori said of his comeback last season. “From Monte-Carlo, I was a different guy.”

It’s easy to forget that 15 months ago, Nishikori was competing on the ATP Challenger Tour to try to find a rhythm. But last year's clay season helped him find his best tennis and now, he is trying to make a splash on the red dirt again.

“I think I’m enjoying tennis a little more than before I got injured,” Nishikori said. “I’m really happy to be coming back with my tennis and coming back to this level. I’m really happy to compete with those great players.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/kei-nis ... reflection

[Razing]

[arti]

[arti]

Japan’s Kei Nishikori survived an unexpected battle against Bolivian qualifier Hugo Dellien 7-5, 7-5 over two hours on Wednesday for a place in the Mutua Madrid Open third round against Swiss 2013 runner-up Stan Wawrinka.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/nishiko ... 19-tuesday

[Damian]

Rzym19: 22. ćwierćfinał M-1000.

[6] Kei Nishikori d. Jan-Lennard Struff 3-6 7-6(2) 6-3

[Razing]

[arti]

[Damian]

Nishikori Reaches The Second Round At Roland Garros

Spoiler:

Seventh seed to face home favourite Tsonga or Gojowczyk next
Entering Sunday, Kei Nishikori had never lost a clay-court match against an opponent ranked as low as his first-round opponent at Roland Garros, World No. 153 Quentin Halys. That did not change.

The Japanese star dismissed the Frenchman 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 59 minutes to reach the second round in Paris for the fifth consecutive year. Nishikori remains undefeated against wild cards at Grand Slams (5-0), and he will face the winner of former World No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and German Peter Gojowczyk next.

"I thought I played good tennis today. Started really well, winning two sets easy. I think in the third set he start playing a little bit different, playing little more aggressive, and he was making more [balls] than in the first and second set," Nishikori said. "[The] last couple games I started playing better, using my forehand and playing aggressive again. Everything was good today. Very happy with my performance."

Read More Sunday #RG19 Stories
Roger Rolls In Return To #RolandGarros
Tsitsipas & Cilic Cruise
Ruud, Popyrin Lead #NextGenATP Charge

Nishikori is now 12-1 against players competing at their home majors, and 8-1 against Frenchmen at Roland Garros. The seventh seed broke serve 18 times from 19 chances, earning 53 per cent of his return points in his first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting against Halys.

Although Nishikori has only won two of his 12 ATP Tour titles on clay, he has won a higher rate of matches on the red dirt (70.5%) than on any other surface. Nishikori made the quarter-finals in Paris in 2015 and 2017.

"My aim has always been to win. I tried to get back on my feet but my tennis wasn't very good. My serve was not good. And when things are like this, then I can't do anything," said Halys, who landed just 44 per cent of his first serves. "It was not a pleasant match for me, 6-2, 6-3 in one hour. I managed to react a little bit to get back on for the third set, but it wasn't a pleasant match to play from the inside, and my best game wasn't there."

Infosys powers real-time insights for every point

The 27th seed, David Goffin, defeated Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 24 minutes. Berankis upset Goffin in a final-set tie-break earlier this year in Doha, but the Belgian now leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 3-1. In their first match on clay, Goffin struck 10 aces and hit 32 total winners to just 12 unforced errors.

Goffin, like Nishikori, is into the second round at Roland Garros for the fifth straight year. The 2016 quarter-finalist, who also lost just four games in his first-round victory at this year's Australian Open, will next face Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic or American Denis Kudla.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/nishiko ... 019-sunday

[arti]

[arti]

It wasn’t easy, but Kei Nishikori breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday after he overcame one of France’s favourite sons, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 2013 and 2015 semi-finalist, for a place in the Roland Garros third round for the fifth consecutive season.

The seventh-seeded Japanese star twice recovered from early set deficits to beat Tsonga 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and two minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the newly rebuilt main show court.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/nishiko ... -wednesday

[arti]

[arti]

[arti]

You can push Kei Nishikori, but finishing him off is an entirely different challenge.

The Japanese star showed why he has the best tour-level deciding-set record in the Open Era on Friday at Roland Garros, battling from a double-break at 0-3 down in the fifth set to defeat No. 31 seed Laslo Djere 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3, 4-6, 8-6. Nishikori advanced to the fourth round on the Parisian terre battue for the fifth consecutive year.

"I think he was playing great tennis. I mean, he almost had it. [It's] nice to come back after [being] 3-0 down, two breaks. It wasn't easy, of course. He was playing on fire," Nishikori said. "I had to wait for a small chance, and sometimes I took some risks and was able to break back. [I'm] feeling great after winning a good match."

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/nishiko ... 019-friday

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

RG19: 11. wielkoszlemowy ćwierćfinał.


Tennis Buzz

[7] Kei Nishikori vs Benoit Paire 6-2 6-7(8) 6-2 6-7(8) 7-5 (Ch. Umpire-Nico Helwerth) Statystyki meczu