SHANGHAI: Japan’s Kei Nishikori cruised through his Shanghai Masters opener yesterday just 48 hours after lifting his second Tour title in Tokyo, as America’s John Isner saved three match points to progress.
Nishikori, the number 14 seed, who became the first Japanese player to win the Japan Open on Sunday, eased past China’s Wu Di 6-2, 6-4 in his first-round match.
Nishikori’s weekend win over big-serving Milos Raonic was his first on the Tour since the 2008 Delray Beach title, sharply raising expectations that Asia had uncovered a potential world-beater.
In a battle of two giants, eighth seed John Isner was forced to dig deep to save three match points to win a second-round match containing three tie breaks and keep alive his outside chance of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals.
Isner booked his place in the third round by beating South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (9/7) in two hours and 45 minutes.
Croatian 10th seed Marin Cilic joined Isner in the third round after defeating Slovakia’s Martin Klizan, the recent St. Petersburg Open champion.
In first-round action there were straight-sets wins for Canada’s 12th seed Raonic and Stanislas Wawrinka, the 13th seed from Switzerland. France’s Gilles Simon knocked out Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-4, 6-2.
Defeated Australian teenager Bernard Tomic admitted he had given only “85 percent” in his 6-4, 6-0 defeat to Florian Mayer.
His Shanghai flop comes just weeks after he was branded “disgraceful” by Davis Cup team captain Pat Rafter following his 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 US Open defeat at the hands of Andy Roddick.
And China’s Zhang Ze, who last week stunned Richard Gasquet in the China Open, could not produce fireworks for a second consecutive week, slipping to a comprehensive 6-0, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun.
Sanchez beaten
In Osaka, Japan, second-seeded Zheng Jie of China advanced to the second round of the Japan Open yesterday with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 win over Maria Jose Martina Sanchez of Spain.
Zheng broke her opponent three times in the final set to wrap up the win in 2 hours, 43 minutes at the Utsubo Tennis Center and will face France’s Pauline Parmentier in the second round.
In other matches, sixth-seeded Anabel Madinah Garrigues also dropped the first set but recovered for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Italy’s Camila Giorgi.
In the day’s only upset, wild-card entry Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand beat fifth-seeded Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-2.
France’s Virginie Razzano booked a second-round meeting with top-seeded Sam Stosur after defeating Thai qualifier Nudnida Luangnam 6-3, 6-3.
Laura Robson of Britain, Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa and Mirjana Lucic of Croatia also advanced.