Japanese star withstands 17 aces
Sixth seed Kei Nishikori withstood 17 aces from Jeremy Chardy to defeat the Frenchman 7-6(4), 6-7(6), 6-1 on Wednesday in the second round of the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.
The Japanese rebounded well in the third set, after Chardy had held his nerve in the tie-break to force a decider, reeling off six straight games from 0-1 to claim victory in two hours and 26 minutes.
The 25-year-old Nishikori recorded his 53rd win of the season, which has been highlighted by three ATP World Tour titles in Memphis (d. Anderson), Barcelona (d. Andujar) and Washington (d. Isner) and which will culminate in his second appearance at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals from 15-22 November.
A semi-finalist in Paris last year, Nishikori goes on to face either 10th seed Richard Gasquet or Leonardo Mayer.
Second seed Andy Murray routed young gun Borna Coric 6-1, 6-2 in just under an hour to move into the third round. Murray avenged a loss at the hands of Coric earlier this year (Dubai QF) and secured his 65th win of the season with dominating serving display (20 of 22 points won on serve). The 28 year old held the upper hand on the Coric service game as well, claiming nine of 15 second-serve points and breaking the 18-year-old Croat four times.
Murray’s next opponent will be No. 16 seed David Goffin, who notched his 37th win of the season as he dismissed qualifier Dusan Lajovic 6-2, 6-2 in 57 minutes. The Belgian converted five of his eight break points as he set up a third-round clash with either second seed Andy Murray or rising Croatian star Borna Coric.
John Isner produced another sterling serving performance in a 6-3, 7-6(3) second-round victory over Aljaz Bedene on Wednesday. The No. 13 seed put 68 per cent of first serves in play, blasted 21 aces and did not face a break point in the 78-minute win. The American dropped only eight points total on serve and will face Andreas Seppi or No. 3 Roger Federer in the third round.
( Courtesy of the ATP and original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/nishikori-gasquet-battle-in-paris-wednesday-2015 )
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Topics: Aljaz Bedene, Andreas Seppi, Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, Bnp Paribas Masters, Borna Coric, David Goffin, Dusan Lajovic, Jeremy Chardy, John Isner, Kei Nishikori, Leonardo Mayer, Men's tennis, Paris tennis news, Richard Gaquet, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis News
-@keinishikori Overcomes #Paris Favorite @jimchardy In French #Tennis Opener, Scores, Updates, Draws- https://t.co/PxP6v4962g #ATPParis