Cilic, Nishikori clear tough hurdles
Print Edition
REIGNING US Open champion Marin Cilic and runner-up Kei Nishikori advanced to the third round of the Citi Open in Washington after hard-fought matches that finished early yesterday morning.
Japan’s fifth-ranked Nishikori rallied to beat Australian James Duckworth 6-7 (8), 6-1, 6-4 while Croatia’s eighth-ranked Cilic defeated 77th-ranked South Korean teen Chung Hye-on 7-6 (2), 6-3 in their first hardcourt appearances on the road to this year’s US Open.
“It wasn’t easy to put him away,” Cilic said. “He’s a great counterpuncher.”
Cilic, the first reigning US Open champion to play in the US capitol since Andre Agassi in 2000, and second seed Nishikori each had first-round byes and saw their matches pushed into the wee hours by a rain delay.
“It gives me more confidence,” Cilic said of his grand slam title. “I’m sure it’s going to give me more faith in my game. In this moment I’m very happy with my game.”
Next in Nishikori’s path will be the winner of a match between Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer and Slovenia’s Blaz Rola.
The 25-year-old Asian No. 1, playing his first match since pulling out of Wimbledon in the second round with a calf injury, fought back after dropping a tense tie-breaker to seize command of the match.
“From the second set I started playing better, less unforced errors, more aggressive,” Nishikori said. “I was happy with how I played after the first set.”
In his first match since a Wimbledon quarterfinal loss to eventual champion Novak Djokovic, third seed Cilic surrendered a break in the seventh game but broke back in the eighth and then took control to book a third-round meeting with American Sam Querrey, who fired 26 aces to oust Japan’s Go Soeda 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
Three American men won — 13th-seeded Sam Querrey, 15th-seeded Jack Sock and Steve Johnson — and three lost — Donald Young, Denis Kudla and Tim Smyczek.
In women’s action, 2011 US Open champion Sam Stosur recorded her 500th career victory, moving into the second round by beating Kristina Mladenovic 6-2, 6-2. Christina McHale knocked off No. 7 seed CoCo Vandeweghe 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, while top-seeded Ekaterina Makarova beat French Open quarterfinalist Alison Van Uytvanck 7-5, 7-5, and defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova was a 6-2, 6-4 winner over qualifier Sanaz Marand.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
