MARDY FISH STILL HAS LIFE AT U.S. OPEN, KEI NISHIKORI CRASHES OUT TO BENOIT PAIRE

Written by: Staff on 31st August 2015

MARDY FISH STILL HAS LIFE AT U.S. OPEN, KEI NISHIKORI CRASHES OUT TO BENOIT PAIRE

epa04906857 Mardy Fish of the US hits a return to Marco Cecchinato of Italy on the first day of the 2015 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 31 August 2015. The US Open runs through 13 September, which is a return to a 14-day schedule. EPA/JUSTIN LANE |

Fish still has life at U.S. Open, Nishikori crashes out to Paire

By Ricky Dimon

The Grandstand is not ready to go away quite yet. Neither is Mardy Fish.

Playing in his last U.S. Open, Fish overcame Marco Cecchinato 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 during first-round action on Monday afternoon. The 33-year-old American broke serve a whopping seven times while also striking 12 aces.

Not unlike the court on which he played, Fish is retiring at the end of this event. The Grandstand is also calling it a career, perhaps not on its own terms. It will be replaced with a new Grandstand on the opposite end of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in 2016. For now, though, this one is still standing and Fish savored the opportunity to grace its hallowed grounds.

“This is a special place,” the former world No. 7 said afterward. “I’m glad I got to play out here.”

The U.S. Open as a whole is special for Kei Nishikori, because he reached his first Grand Slam final here in 2014. Fast forward one year, though, and his 2015 campaign in New York will be one to forget.

Nishikori suffered a stunning first-round loss in Louis Armstrong Stadium, going down to Benoit Paire 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-4. Paire saved two match points at 4-6 and 5-6 in the fourth-set tiebreaker en route to staging his borderline miracle comeback.

“When I saw the draw against Kei, I said, ‘Bad luck.’ The thing is, you have to [enjoy] this match. You have to feel good on court; to have fun. You’re going to play on big court, on big stadium. My coach told me the most important thing is when you go out of the court, you win (or) you lose. You don’t care; just have fun.”

Fun? The Frenchman had a downright ball. He played with nothing to lose, unleashing his ferocious backhand at every opportunity while characteristically mixing in a myriad of drop-shots. While that resulted in 67 unforced errors, it also produced 64 winners–30 more than Nishikori.

“You can beat Kei,” Paire said of his mentality going into the match. “It’s not like if I play against Roger Federer.”

Federer does not start until Tuesday, but Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal joined Paire and Fish–among many other–in the second round. Djokovic triple-breadsticked Joao Souza 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 before leaving the night-session spoils inside the new-look Arthur Ashe Stadium to Nadal. A much more competitive contest saw the Spaniard hold off Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

“It’s easier said than done to really play well,” Djokovic commented. “Especially in the first matches of a new tournament. With a dominant win like the one today, it adds to your confidence, your self-belief.

“But it’s also making a statement for everybody that is out there watching. We are all watching each other’s matches. We are all seeing how each other progresses. It’s important you’re out on the court with the right intensity and you’re sending a good message, and I’ve done so.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 2015 US Open, Atp World Tour, Benoit Paire, Flushing Meadows, Kei Nishikori, Marco Cecchinato, Mardy Fish, New York, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Tennis News, US Open tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

August 31, 2015 at 11:13 pm

-@MardyFish STILL HAS LIFE AT @usopen, @keinishikori CRASHES OUT TO @benoitpaire- http://t.co/chhxujYuyi #USOpen2015 #FlushingMeadows #ATP