THE LATEST TENNIS NEWS – KEI NISHIKORI FIGHTS PAST MARIN CILIC IN TOKYO TO ALL THE LOCALS DELIGHT, WOULD LOVE IT IF HE WINS A THIRD TOKYO TITLE

Written by: Staff on 9th October 2015

THE LATEST TENNIS NEWS - KEI NISHIKORI FIGHTS PAST MARIN CILIC IN TOKYO TO ALL THE LOCALS DELIGHT, WOULD LOVE IT IF HE WINS A THIRD TOKYO TITLE

epa04970048 Kei Nishikori of Japan hits a return to Marin Cilic of Croatia during the men's singles quarterfinal match of the Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Japan, 09 October 2015. EPA/KIYOSHI OTA |

Kei Nishikori fought back to delight Japanese fans on Friday at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships to improve his chances of securing a spot at next month’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Two-time champion Nishikori kept his supporters on the edge of their seats by beating Marin Cilic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 in two hours and 11 minutes. He will now challenge Benoit Paire for a place in Sunday’s final.

Second seed Nishikori withstood 23 aces from Cilic’s racquet, breaking the sixth seed on two occasions to reach his eighth ATP World Tour semi-final (or better) of the season. Cilic, who has won nine of his past 12 matches, has not beaten a Top 10 player in the Emirates ATP Rankings since last year’s US Open semi-final against No. 3-ranked Roger Federer.

Cilic saved three break points in a 15-point third game, which had 10,000 fans at the Ariake Colosseum enthralled. Nishikori was unable to break and as Cilic gained control of baseline rallies the pressure mounted. Cilic broke to 30 for a 4-2 lead, when two deep forehands stretched Nishikori.

In a tense second set, Nishikori saved one break point at 30/40 in the second game. The set looked destined for a tie-break, Nishikori raised his game at 6-5 when he won three straight points on Cilic’s serve.

Nishikori saved one break point in the first game of the third set, and despite receiving treatment on his right shoulder after the third game, immediately broke Cilic and went on to record his 51st match win of the year.

Marin Cilic of Croatia hits a return to Kei Nishikori of Japan during the men’s singles quarterfinal match of the Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Japan, 09 October 2015. EPA/KIYOSHI OTA

Nishikori has 3,855 points and is No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, with four spots left up for grabs at the prestigious season finale, to be held at The O2 in the English capital from 15-22 November. Cilic is No. 12 in the battle to qualify on 2,100 points.

Paire also came back to beat Nick Kyrgios 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in 88 minutes to round out the day. He will now contest his first ATP World Tour 500-level semi-final.

Colombians Edge Into Tokyo Doubles Final, Bryan Bros. Went Out In First Round

Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah won their third Match tie-break of the week Friday afternoon to book their spot in Sunday’s doubles final. The Colombians, who beat Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the first round, overcame American qualifiers Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 in 78 minutes.

( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/nishikori-survives-cilic-test-at-tokyo-2015 )

Topics: Atp World Tour, Benoit Paire, Bryan Brothers, Doubles tennis, Japan Open tennis, Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic, Men's tennis, Nick Kyrgios, Sports, Tennis News, Tokyo

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

10sBalls_com says:

October 9, 2015 at 12:54 pm

THE LATEST #TENNIS NEWS – @keinishikori FIGHTS PAST @cilic_marin IN #TOKYO TO ALL THE LOCALS DELIGHT- http://t.co/VD21uKkKGo #RakutenOpen