Murray rolls on, injury forces out Nishikori
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TOP-SEEDED Andy Murray dispatched Andrey Kuznetsov 6-2, 6-1 yesterday to set up China Open quarterfinal against his British Davis Cup teammate Kyle Edmund.
Both are playing their first tournaments since Britain’s loss to Argentina in the Davis Cup semifinals last month.
Murray is hoping with a strong run in China to close the gap on No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic, who withdrew from the tournament. He struggled initially against Kuznetsov, dropping two early service games as the players traded breaks, but went on a dominant run after the fifth game.
Edmund, a qualifier, upset seventh-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Fifth-seeded David Ferrer advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Fabio Fognini and will next play Alexander Zverev, who beat Jack Sock 6-4, 6-2.
Ferrer is still chasing his first title of the season. The Spaniard has won at least one ATP title in all but one year since 2006.
Grigor Dmitrov held off Steve Johnson 7-5, 6-7 (9), 6-4 and No. 8-seeded Richard Gasquet beat Sam Querrey 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in first-round matches.
In the women’s second round, top-ranked Angelique Kerber had a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Barbora Strycova. US Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova rallied for a tough 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7) win over 19-year-old Daria Kasatkina, Johanna Konta wrapped up a rain-delayed 7-5, 6-2 win over Timea Babos, and Daria Gavrilova ousted 12th-seeded Timea Bacsinszky 4-6, 6-0, 6-4.
Kerber, who twice failed to serve out the match in a tight finish against Strycova, will next play Elina Svitolina for a place in the quarterfinals.
Svitolina beat Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 6-4, and Caroline Garcia fended off Peng Shuai 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (4), ending a tournament for the Chinese wildcard that started with an upset first-round win over Venus Williams.
In Tokyo, former champions Kei Nishikori and Tomas Berdych lost at the Japan Open.
Top-seeded Nishikori was forced to retire with a left glute problem in the first set of his second-round match against Joao Sousa.
Third-seeded Berdych fell to Gilles Muller of Luxembourh 7-6 (7), 6-1 in the first round.
Nishikori was 3-0 up when he received medical treatment on his left glute while lying face down on the court for several minutes.
The 2012 and 2014 champ served two weak double faults in the next game, and appeared in pain when chasing the ball. He held serve, but lost the next three games before calling a halt while leading 4-3 in his first matchup with Sousa.
Nishikori, ranked No. 5, saw a doctor after the match, and will have a scan today. He is next due to play in the Shanghai Rolex Masters next week.
Sousa moved on to face fifth-seeded David Goffin, after the Belgian beat Jiri Vesely 6-3, 7-5. Also, fourth-seeded Marin Cilic rallied to oust Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Berdych captured his first ATP title of the season when he retained his Shenzhen Open crown on Sunday, but his first-round defeat in Tokyo dented his bid for the ATP Finals.
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