Home favourite Kei Nishikori advanced to the second round of the Japan Open after a 6-4, 6-1 win over compatriot Yuichi Sugita on Monday.
The world No. 11 has not won an ATP Tour title since 2016 but has enjoyed recent success in the competition after lifting the title in Tokyo in 2012 and 2014.
“I always enjoy playing in Japan. It’s something special,” Nishikori told the ATP Tour’s official website ahead of the tournament. “It’s only once or twice, a couple times a year I get to play in Japan, so I always enjoy it. I hope I can enjoy this whole week.”
Nishikori will play Benoit Paire in the second round after the Frenchman defeated Nicolas Jarry 6-4, 7-6(1).
Swiss tennis maestro Stan Wawrinka advanced to the second round of the ongoing Japan Open after defeating America’s Taylor Fritz in men’s singles event here on Tuesday. The 33-year-old registered a thumping 6-3, 6-4 victory over his American opponent in their first-round clash of the tournament.
Meanwhile, top seed Marin Cilic crashed out of the Japan Open in a shock 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 defeat to Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round on Tuesday. The former US Open champion looked to be in complete control after pocketing the first set with a brutal drive volley, but things quickly unraveled for the Croatian when Struff suddenly caught fire.
After Struff, ranked a whopping 50 places below Cilic at 56 in the world, had leveled the match, normal service appeared to have resumed in the deciding set. Cilic, who reached the final of this year’s Australian Open, broke for 3-2 with a peach of a backhand that dipped viciously onto Struff’s toes, but the German struck back — not once, but twice — to force a tiebreak.
Struff smashed the breaker, snaffling it 7-1 with his ninth ace to complete a stunning turnaround after two hours, 18 minutes. He next plays Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, who edged a war of attrition with Bosnian Damir Dzumhur 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the last 16.
Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas avoided a similar fate to Cilic as the Greek thrashed Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-1, 6-3 in the late match.
Milos Raonic, who is also without an ATP title since 2016, defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-3 6-4. The No. 6 seed will play Japanese qualifier Yosuke Watanuki in the next round after he beat Robin Haase 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-1.
Nick Kyrgios served 20 aces in his first-round win over Yoshihito Nishioka at the ATP Tour’s Japan Open. The Australian world No.27 converted just two of nine break-point opportunities but won the big points to prevail 7-5 7-6 (7-3) in one hour and 13 minutes.
Kyrgios was dominant on his forehand wing hitting 15 winners but threw in 51 unforced errors to keep Nishioka, who won his maiden ATP title last week in Shenzhen, in the match.
French eighth seed Richard Gasquet is Kyrgios’s second-round opponent.
