Kei Nishikori recovered from a set down to record his first victory at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Tuesday, beating in-form Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
The Rotterdam debutant, who captured his 12th ATP Tour title at the Brisbane International last month (d. Medvedev), won 84 per cent of first-serve points (37/44) to advance after two hours and 11 minutes. Nishikori improves to 9-1 at tour-level this season and 2-0 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Herbert. Last week, Herbert reached his third ATP Tour singles final, falling in straight-sets to countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Open Sud de France.
“It wasn’t easy, as he was playing good tennis and serving well,” said Nishikori. “I had a little bit of trouble with my return game and couldn’t convert the important points. I just tried to play steady, as I wasn’t playing bad, and I tried to stay aggressive.”
Nishikori will meet Ernests Gulbis for a spot in the quarter-finals. The 30-year-old Latvian defeated fellow lucky loser Marius Copil 6-2, 6-4 in 72 minutes. Nishikori is unbeaten in two FedEx ATP Head2Head clashes against Gulbis.
“[Gulbis] is not easy, especially indoors where he uses his great serve and aggressive play really well,” said Nishikori. “I just need to stay focused and get used to the conditions a little bit more.”
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After saving five break points in a 13-minute game at 3-3, with aggression behind his serve and forehand, Herbert made a crucial breakthrough. The Frenchman stepped into the court, rushing his opponent into a series of errors to claim eight of the next 10 points and a one-set lead.
Nishikori raised his level early in the second set after failing to convert two break points, in a marathon 15-minute game, for a 2-0 lead. The Japanese No. 1 showcased remarkable court coverage en route to his first break of the match and won five straight games from 1-1 to force a decider. Nishikori rode the momentum into the third set, breaking for a 2-1 lead with back-to-back forehand winners before claiming victory after an unforced backhard error from Herbert.
Did You Know?
Nishikori has won his opening match at each of his past 11 tour-level events. The World No. 7’s most recent opening-match loss came against Robin Haase at the Rogers Cup in August 2018.
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