2014 US Open runner-up, Kei Nishikori, will be donning a combination of yellow and white UNIQLO outfit for this year’s event at Flushing Meadows which is scheduled to commence from August 31.
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Rafael Nadal made a terrific beginning yesterday, defeating Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
The victor of 14 career grand slam events has slipped to ninth in the world after an up-and-down year.
Nishikori won his third title of the season in Washington last week and is hitting his stride ahead of the U.S. Open. “That’s just a sign of somebody that’s won a lot of matches”.
“It’s been a long time since my opponent wasn’t a big server”.
Chardy fought off five match points in the second-set tiebreaker. “My tennis is getting better”, Nishikori said.
The fourth-seeded Nishikori posted his ATP-Tour leading 27th hard court win of the year in the second round match at Uniprix Stadium, the start of which was delayed almost 90 minutes by rain. After Nadal challenged a point, Nishikori complained to the chair umpire on the Spaniard taking too much time to challenge.
Elsewhere in the Montreal doubles draw, Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares scored a 6-2, 6-4 win over reigning Wimbledon champions Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau while Daniel Nestor and Edouard Roger-Vasselin beat fifth seeds Marcin Matkowski and Nenad Zimonjic 6-4, 6-2.
After dominating the first set, Nishikori took a 4-1 lead with two service breaks in the second set before the seventh seeded Nadal got one of them back and started to get his teeth into the contest.
The Japanese number one may be better off recently, but Nadal has seemed to have his mojo back.
“I had a lot of chances and closed it out in the end, but he had a couple of match points and it would’ve been deserved if he had won this match tonight”.
Was a positive victory for me.
A day after his controversial sledge aimed at Stan Wawrinka, Tomic’s Australian countryman Nick Kyrgios was booed and went down to John Isner 7-5 6-3. “Six consecutive [match] victories, that didn’t happen very often during the season”.
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Djokovic nearly joined Nadal on the way out but rallied from a set down to beat Gulbis 5-7 7-6(7) 6-1, setting up a semi-final with Jeremy Chardy of France.
