Nishikori on Fire: Japanese Star Reaches Quarterfinals for Second Week in a Row
Kei Nishikori Advances to Quarterfinals at AON Open Challenger
Kei Nishikori (photo: National Bank Open)
World No. 222 Kei Nishikori defeated seventh seed JP Vallejos of Peru in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals of the AON Open Challenger (Italy/Genova, clay, ATP Challenger) for the second consecutive week.
Nishikori, 34, a former world No. 4, reached the quarterfinals at the Como Challenger (Como, Italy, clay, ATP Challenger) last week, but withdrew from the quarterfinals due to a shoulder injury.
In the first round, Nishikori defeated qualifying winner and world number 386 M. Dellavedova (Australia) and advanced to the second round. In the second round, he faced Vallijas, ranked 157th in the world. The first set was played in the rain, and Nishikori broke in the first game. He also broke in the third game, winning three games in a row from the start.
In the second set, Nishikori showed tenacity in the first game, succeeded in breaking, and then broke again in the seventh game. Although Nishikori was broken once in the eighth game immediately after, he broke a third time in the ninth game and won in straight sets.
With his victory, Nishikori will face either third seed J. Munar (Spain) or qualifier K. Feldbausch (Switzerland), ranked 445th in the world, in the quarterfinals.
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