ATP Acapulco: Top Seeds David Ferrer, Kei Nishikori Ousted

Top seed David Ferrer and second seed Kei Nishikori were upset victims at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel on Wednesday. Alexandr Dolgopolov stunned the top seed with a dazzling display that sends him through to the quarterfinals.

Dolgpolov Flogs Ferrer

The Abierto Mexicano Telcel is left with just three seeded players are an upset-laden Wednesday saw the top two seeds fall. Alexandr Dolgopolov scored the first stunner as he beat top seed David Ferrer for just the third time in eleven tries. Dolgopolov dropped his first service game to hand Ferrer a quick 2-0 lead, but the Ukrainian didn't flinch as he broke back to get back on serve in the next game. From there, Dolgopolov would not be troubled on serve as the Spaniard was constantly fighting to stay in his own service games. Ferrer fought off three break points in a testy 7th game, but could not save a 5th break point in the 9th game to see Dolgopolov lead 5-4. The "Dog" would serve out the set at 6-4.

The second set saw both players survive a pair of break points in their second service games as the score eased out to 2-2. Another exchange of holds would see the score at 3-3 when Dolgopolov made the huge breakthrough to secure a 4-3 lead. He would consolidate, but need four match points to put Ferrer away in the final game. Dolgopolov would close the set and match with a 6-4 win in the set.

For the match, Dolgopolov was in control from the baseline as he whipped 22 winners. Following the match, the Ukrainian said that he never felt any pressure in the match, “I think I was quite calm. I was happy I’m on court because I was injured last week. That was the key I think. I played relaxed and the pressure was more on him. I was aggressive and went for my shots. They were the key points."

Querrey Squashes Nishikori

The second big upset of the night came when red hot Sam Querreysmashed second seed Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-3. Nishikori struggled from the opening ball as he would crack on his first service game to give the Delray Beach champion a fast 2-0 lead. Querrey settled into a good rhythm over the next three service games to cruise to a 5-3 lead. With the set on his racquet though, the pressure caught him as Nishikori amped up his return game to break the American at-love. The tide would not turn however as the second seed would struggle on serve in an attempt to even the set. Querrey would break back to close out the set. Nishikori rarely touched the Querrey first serve in the set with the American winning 13 of 16 points. The second seed fought to find his consistency on serve in the set, only landing 50 percent of his first serves. That allowed Querrey to take some key points on second serves.

In the second set, Nishikori was under the gun immediately. After a quick Querrey hold, the second seed fell behind in his service game again as he could not land first serves. Nishikori would be broken in a familiar pattern as he landed just 40 percent of his first serves in the set. Querrey would take 11 of 21 second serve points in the second. Querrey combined that with a stellar first serve that dominated to win 15 of 16 points to carry the American to his 7th straight victory. The win also broke a four game losing streak to Nishikori for the American, who had lost to Japan's top man at the Memphis Open earlier this month.

Thiem, Tomic and Dimitrov Avoid Trouble

The other three seeds in action on Wednesday were able to advance. Fourth seed Dominic Thiem had a battle on his hands with Dmitry Tursunov. The Russian took an early break lead in the first set, but Thiem fought back to get on serve and force a tiebreak. The Austrian would fall behind a set though as the Russian took the break 7-5. Thiem settled in quickly in the second as his serve was solid, allowing him to find an opening where be would break the Russian at-love in game six. Thiem would roar back to take the second 6-3 and close the match 6-4 in the third set. The fourth seed's first serve was a huge weapon in securing the win as he won 42 of 52 points.

Fifth seed Bernard Tomic found himself down early to Adrian Mannarino in second round action. The Aussie would bounce back from an early break though as he won six of the last eight games in the opening set. Tomic would be in control from there for a 6-4, 6-4 win. Grigor Dimitrov struggled early in his match against Donald Young, but was able to save six out of six break points in the opening set.

That left him waiting for an opportunity, which he found in the 8th game, to break Young to take a 5-3 lead. Dimitrov would close out the set in the next game 6-3. The second set would see the two exchange breaks within the first four games. Dimitrov would add a second break in game five that provided him with the decisive margin to work his way into the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-4 win.

Fritz Leads Other Winners

Among the other three winners on the day, American Taylor Fritz continued to stand out. The 18-year-old qualifier flew past Victor Estrella Burgos 6-1, 6-3. Fritz won 58 percent of the points off of the Dominican's serve, breaking him five times. Fellow American Ryan Harrison blew a golden opportunity to get to an ATP 500 level quarterfinal. Harrison was up a break in the third, but could not finish the job as Illya Marchenko rallied to win 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (5).Robin Haase also advanced to the quarterfinals in a three set grinder against Aljaz Bedene. The Dutchman prevailed in a tight match 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-4.

Thursday's Quarterfinals

Play is scheduled to begin with 5th seed Bernard Tomic taking on Illya Marchenko in the first quarterfinal. The most anticipated match will be third up on Cancha Central with 4th seed Dominic Thiem and 7th seed Grigor Dimitrov going head-to-head for the first time. The night finishes with an All-American match pitting Taylor Fritz against Sam Querrey.

Sam Querrey upsets Kei Nishikori at Mexican tennis

Kei Nishikori, who was coming off a title run at Memphis less than two weeks ago, bombed out of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, losing 6-4, 6-3 to Sam Querrey in Mexico City on Wednesday.

Querrey advanced to his third straight ATP Tour quarter-finals where he will face American teenager Taylor Fritz.

It is the first time in four tournaments this season that Japan's Nishikori has not reached at least the quarter-finals.

"It's always hard when you play against good players, but it wasn't my day today," the second seeded Nishikori said.

"There were many things that I should do better, especially my serve.

"I wasn’t aggressive enough to beat Sam today. Also he was hitting really big serves so there weren't many chances for my return game."

Nishikori's ouster means the tournament is without its top two seeds after David Ferrer's earlier loss to Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Nadal, an Indian ace for 2 weeks

The first part of Rafael Nadal's pre-season plans will include a jolly to Asia for the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), which will feature an array of ATP and WTA stars competing on different teams.

This exhibition tournament, spanning five countries and organised purely along commercial lines, has undergone some rule changes for this, its second edition. On this occasion, each match will consist of five one-set rubbers: one men's singles, one women's singles, one men's doubles, one mixed doubles and one men's legend's singles.

Nadal will be representing the Indian Aces, based in New Delhi, for whom he will be teaming up with Gael Monfils, Agnieszka Radwanska, Fabrice Santoro, Ivan Dodig, Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna.

Kei Nishikori will be spearheading the Japan Warriors, who will also feature Kurumi Nara, Leander Paes, Maria Sharapova, Marat Safin, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Philipp Kohlschreiber.

The Philippine Mavericks line-up will consist of Serena Williams, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Édouard Roger-Vasselin, Mark Philippoussis, Richard Gasquet, Treat Huey, Milos Raonic and Jarmila Gajdosova.

The Singapore Slammers will boast Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, Marcelo Melo, Dustin Brown, Karolina Pliskova, Belinda Bencic and Carlos Moyá in their ranks. And, last but not least, Roger Federer, Goran Ivanisevic, Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic, Daniel Nestor, Kristina Mladenovic and Ana Ivanovic will join forces for the UAE Royals.

World number one Novak Djokovic pulled out of the competition owing to fatigue following his hugely successful season.

Exclusive: IPTL is fun; but rules confusing, says Kei Nishikori

The International Premier Tennis League has got a thumbs up from Japan's ace tennis player Kei Nishikori, but he admits that the rules of the competition are a bit confusing.

The International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) has got a thumbs up from Japan's ace tennis player Kei Nishikori, but he admits that the rules of the competition are a bit confusing.

"The team competition is very good, you only have them in Davis Cup. The rules made me little confused but its real fun on the court," Nishikori said while talking to India Today television in Kobe.

When asked, on what made him to join the IPTL, the world No.8 said: "It's a great event and good opportunity for me to play here in Japan my home country. Moreover, lot of great players and legends of the game are playing in the league."

Niskikori is the first tennis player from Japan to break into top-10 of world rankings and also made into the US Open final last year. "It was really a good feeling to make into US Open final last year and almost my dream coming true. I hope to make it to a grand slam final soon and move forward from there," Nishikori said.

"The toughest part for me was to go above top 20 and I was there for two years despite doing everything right, but something was not quite enough. I got physically stronger, spent more time on the court and the little things helped me to improve," Nishikori said on his rise on the ATP tour.

However, for Nishikori, Novak Djokovic comes as a tough opponent and so also Rafael Nadal. 

Spectre of Cilic looms for Nishikori at Japan Open

TOKYO —

Marin Cilic produced a masterclass on Thursday as he overpowered American Steve Johnson 6-3, 6-3 to set up a Japan Open quarterfinal against defending champion Kei Nishikori.

Tennis bad boy Nick Kyrgios dismissed Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut, taking less than an hour to complete a 6-4, 6-2 second-round victory in Tokyo with some equally strong-arm tactics.

Sixth seed Cilic beat the Japanese star in last year’s U.S. Open final and the Croatian—who also reached the semifinals in New York last month—showed enough against Johnson to suggest Nishikori will face a severe test on Friday.

Johnson had no answer to the power and guile of Cilic, who clinched the first set with a cleverly disguised chip-and-charge that forced his tormented opponent into a panicked forehand he got horribly wrong.

An exquisite lob earned Cilic a break at the start of the second and such was Johnson’s frustration he slammed a ball out of the waterside arena to pick up a code violation.

His mood darkened as Cilic caught fire, ending with a flurry of passing shots, capped by a thunderous forehand on match point to wrap up victory in just 73 minutes.

“It will be very special to play Kei in Tokyo for the first time,” said Cilic, who is chasing a first title of the year and the 14th of his career.

“We played a close match in Washington earlier this year and Kei won that one, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I just hope I can play as well as I did today.”

Australian Kyrgios has been introduced by the local Japanese cable broadcaster showing the Japan Open this week as: “Genius? Or problem child?”

But despite the controversy that follows the temperamental Aussie around the men’s ATP Tour, he behaved impeccably against Bautista Agut, the highlight a between-the-legs half volley to secure a break at the start of the second set.

Kyrgios, fined recently for a sexual insult aimed at Stan Wawrinka’s girlfriend during a match against the Swiss, closed out the match with a pummelling serve down the middle after just 56 minutes on court.

“I guess I’ve been doing it all of my short career,” said the Australian of his showboating style. “I love entertaining the crowd and I hope to put on a show again tomorrow.”

Top seed Wawrinka is not scheduled to face Kyrgios until the final in Tokyo in what would make for a spicy encounter.

He and Nishikori both had the day off after booking their places in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Kei Nishikori beats Sam Querrey to advance at Japan Open

Local favourite Kei Nishikori advanced to the quarterfinals of the Japan Open with a 7-6 (3) 6-3 victory over Sam Querrey on Wednesday.

Second-seeded Nishikori set up match point with a blistering backhand down the line and won with a forehand smash, securing his third straight win in seven matches against the unseeded Querrey.

"With the strong wind and playing against a big server like him, I needed a lot of concentration," Nishikori said. "After winning the tiebreak, I was able to settle down and relax more in the second set."

French Open champion and top seed Stan Wawrinka avenged last year's opening round defeat to Tatsuma Ito, by beating the 116th-ranked Japanese 6-3 2-6 6-4 to book his place in the quarterfinals.

"It was a tough match and after losing to him last year, I am happy to have gotten through," Wawrinka said. "I tried to mix up my play in the third set to move him around more. I have one day off now and will train to be ready for my next match."

The 25-year-old Nishikori, who is bidding for his third Japan Open title, has now reached the quarterfinals or better at 13 of his past 16 tournaments.

There were no break point opportunities in the first set, and Nishikori won five of the first six points in the tie-break.

The sixth-ranked Nishikori broke Querrey to go up 2-1 in the second set and never let his opponent back in the match.

He will next face either sixth-seeded Marin Cilic or Steve Johnson.

Cilic outlasted Donald Young 7-5 5-7 6-4 in a first round match.

Third-seeded Gilles Simon of France also advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4 6-2 win over Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic. Simon will face Luxembourg's Gilles Muller, a 7-6 (3) 7-6 (5) winner over Jeremy Chardy of France.

US Open: Last year's finalist Kei Nishikori suffers shock first round exit

Diatchenko, who wore a walking boot to her news conference, said she hurt herself running sprints before the match and that she felt "sharp pain" chasing a backhand during a point. "Today, for me, itэs a good day". Paire had boasted some excellent results coming into the match, having won his first title in Bastad recently, whilst gradually forcing his ranking back into the top 40.

 "Maybe he was a little bit nervous", Paire said, noting that perhaps the pressure of being a finalist previous year got to Nishikori.

"I couldn't play, couldn't move, couldn't do anything", said Monfils, twice a quarterfinalist at the U.S. Open and a crowd favorite at Flushing Meadows.

 Nishikori enjoyed his highest seed for any Grand Slam event all-too briefly, walking off Louis Armstrong Stadium with his head down after his third first-round exit in New York in five years.

 "To beat Nishikori for me, was impossible to imagine this", said Paire, who entered the match with an uninspiring 2-16 record against top-10 ranked opponents.

 David Ferrer is also in the second quarter and he recovered from losing the first set to defeat Radu Albot in what was his first match since before Wimbledon.

Japanese Nishikori bowed out of the US Open, the tournament's first big upset this year, as he succumbed to the big-serving Frenchman Benoit Paire 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (6), 4-6.

 By the time the evening session began, Ana Ivanovic, the seventh seed and a former world No. 1, and Karolina Pliskova, the eighth seed, were amongst the women seeded players to have been dismissed. It would likely be a different story had Stan Wawrinka not beaten Djokovic in the French Open final, as he might have been searching for the calendar year Grand Slam as well.

The popular 33-year-old Mardy Fish announced that he would retire after the Open following a brief and courageous return to the United States hard courts this summer. He landed 75 percent of his first serves in the box, 21 percent more than Souza, with 54 percent in.

It was Nishikori, however, who generated the most opening-day buzz as his hopes of making another scintillating run in the US Open came to a quick end.

That left 12th seed Belinda Bencic - who ousted Bulgarian Sesil Karatancheva 6-1, 6-2 - as the top-rated foe in Williams' half of the draw. The 2008 French Open victor fell 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.

Even before Serena Williams set foot in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night, her path through the U.S. Open to complete the Grand Slam became a lot easier thanks to losses by other top women.

After the injury-forced withdrawal of Russian third seed Maria Sharapova, Ivanovic had been Williams top-ranked rival.