Baby-faced assassins Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori both roared into the quarter-finals of the Japan Open yesterday to remain on course for a repeat of last year’s final.
Third seed Raonic, beaten by local hero Nishikori in last year’s final, overpowered Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-3, as bright sunshine returned to Tokyo Bay and the roof was finally opened on the center court after a wet start to the US$1.43 million event.
Fourth seed Nishikori sent Spain’s Feliciano Lopez packing with a 7-6, 6-0 victory, extending his winning streak on the Ariake hard court to 10 in Japan Open and Davis Cup competition with a swashbuckling display.
Photo: AFP
Never remotely threatened, world No. 11 Raonic did not face a single break point and put Chardy out of his misery with his 17th ace after 76 minutes.
“I feel so comfortable on this court I almost don’t have to think,” the Canadian said, coming off his fifth career title in Bangkok last weekend.
He faces lucky loser Lukas Lacko in the last eight.
Photo: AFP
“Lukas has nothing to lose. He made the draw in a fortunate situation and made the most of it. He’s dangerous so I’ll have to play very tight and disciplined,” he said.
Slovakian Lacko beat qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5, 6-4 to boost his weekly earnings to US$32,000 so far since winning the coin toss to replace injured Michael Llodra in the main draw.
Nishikori took seven minutes less than Raonic to advance, taking the first set tiebreak 7-4 with an ace down the middle before dishing out the dreaded “bagel” to Lopez in a 21-minute second set. He completed the job with a thundering forehand return.
“I didn’t feel happy at all about winning a second-round match,” said world No. 13 Nishikori, who became the host country’s first Japan Open winner last year. “Probably because I’m the defending champion — I know there’s a long way to go.”
“It’s my home court,” added the 23-year-old, who is steadily rediscovering his form after a nightmare hard-court season which culminated in a shock first-round exit from the US Open. “I went through some of the biggest mental trauma of my career this summer, but I’ve sorted my head out and I’m finding my rhythm again.”
Nishikori burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old by winning in Delray Beach as a 244th-ranked qualifier in 2008, becoming the first Japanese man to win an ATP title since Shuzo Matsuoka in 1992.
He plays Spain’s Nicolas Almagro in the last eight after the sixth seed thrashed Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 6-2.
Top seed Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina safely reached the quarter-finals on Wednesday, before former Tokyo champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France suffered a shock second-round defeat.
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray withdrew to undergo minor back surgery set to keep the Scot out for the rest of the year.
The Japan Open has boasted a glittering list of champions since Ken Rosewall lifted the trophy in 1973 when it became an official tour event. Stefan Edberg holds the record with four wins, including three in a row from 1989 to 1991.
John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras have all won the title, while Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Murray have triumphed in recent years.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set