Nishikori and Zverev Win at Indian Wells

Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori and german Alexander Zverev advance through the next round of BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells) 2016. Nishikori beats Steve Johnson with 2-0 in sets (7-6; 7;6) while Alexander zverev defeats french Gilles Simon in straight sets (6-2; 6-2).

Murray Wins Five-Set Epic to Send Great Britain Through

BIRMINGHAM, GREAT BRITAIN: Andy Murray sealed a third successive Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal and a 150th tie win for Great Britain as the world No. 2 staved off a comeback from Japan’s Kei Nishikori in a five-set thriler to clinch victory for the hosts.
Murray showed his trademark fight and determination to overcome Nishikori 75 76(6) 36 46 63 in a tense match lasting four hours and 54 minutes. It further extends his unbeaten streak in Davis Cup singles and doubles rubbers to 14.
Taking on world No. 6 Nishikori was, by ranking, Murray’s toughest test yet in Davis Cup as this was the first time he had taken on a top-10 player. Although Nishikori was on an 11-match singles win streak himself in the competition, Murray did have the psychological advantage of a 5-1 head-to-head record against the Japanese.
After being distracted by a balloon popping amongst the crowd at the Barclaycard Arena, Murray had to save a break point in a tense opening game before then claiming the break himself for 3-1 with a deep backhand return which forced the error from Nishikori.
Murray started to show signs of frustration as Nishikori reeled off three games in a row to level at 44. But Murray dug deep in the face of repeated clean ball striking from his opponent and broke for the opening set on his third set point as Nishikori dumped a forehand into the net at the end of a lengthy rally.
Nishikori looked despondent as he walked off court for a toilet break but produced the perfect response upon his return as he immediately broke in the first game of the second set. Murray broke back for 2-2 with a stunning backhand winner down the line and a tight set ensued as it went to the tiebreak.
Murray looked good for a two-set lead as he raced to a 4-0 lead but Nishikori fought back and moved 5-4 ahead with two serves for the set. Murray saved one set point with an ace out wide and then took the set himself thanks to some terrific defence which saw Nishikori net with a backhand.
Nishikori gave some hope to the Japanese fans of a comeback, though, in a quickfire 33-minute third set as he broke for 5-3 and then sealed the set with a stretch backhand winner which flew past an incoming Murray. It was only the third set in 15 that Nishikori had won against Murray in his career.
He did not have to wait too long for another either. Murray failed to take two break points in the early stages of the fourth set and Nishikori made him pay with the double break for 5-2. He could not serve out the set at the first time of asking but made no mistake the second time, taking the match to a deciding set with Murray looking fatigued.
Murray had only once in his career lost in the 134 times he had been two sets up in a best-of-five set match – at the age of 18 against David Nalbandian at Wimbledon in 2005 – but the British support were understandably quiet as Nishikori broke in the opening game of the fifth set with a forehand drive volley.
But despite lumbering around the court in between points, Murray often somehow finds a way and he fought back despite struggling on serve as Nishikori also found it difficult to hold with a total of five breaks in the first six games of the set, the last crucially being claimed by Murray as he hit a forehand winner to go 42 ahead and then held to move to within one game of victory.
Murray failed to convert two match points on the Nishikori serve but he then served out the victory to maintain his record of having never lost a Davis Cup singles match on a hard court (13-0).

Source: DavisCup.com

Britain, Japan 1-1 in Davis Cup

Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori both won their 12th straight match in the Davis Cup to leave titleholder Britain and Japan tied at 1-1 in the first round on Friday.
Playing his first match in nearly five weeks and since becoming a father, Murray displayed some rustiness in easily beating Taro Daniel 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 to successfully launch Britain's defense of the cup on an indoor court in Birmingham.
Nishikori had it much tougher in the second singles match before finally putting away 157th-ranked Dan Evans 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (3).
The doubles is on Saturday and Murray has indicated he could play with his brother Jamie.
Murray hadn't played since losing to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final on Jan. 31. His wife, Kim, gave birth to Sophia on Feb. 7.
"It has been tough the last few days being away from her for the first time, but it had to happen at some stage," Murray said, "and it is a pleasure to represent my country and be with teammates that we won with last year."
Britain beat Belgium in November for its first Davis Cup title in 79 years, and Murray scored the winning point in the final to go through the whole campaign unbeaten.
Murray has committed to the Davis Cup again this season, despite it being a busy schedule because of the Olympic Games, and he started the victory over Daniel — ranked No. 87 — by winning the first 11 points of the match.
Daniel, who is half-American, took advantage of Murray's lack of recent competitive play to make a contest out of the second set, which went with serve until Murray broke in the seventh game.
Murray sealed the match with an ace, and didn't drop serve.
"The second and third sets were tough," Murray said. "I haven't played for a long time. I was a little bit out of breath."
The sixth-ranked Nishikori's unbeaten run in the Davis Cup dates back four years and it was never seriously in doubt against Evans, whose form has improved since last year when his ranking dropped below No. 700
Evans, a late injury replacement for Kyle Edmund and playing in his home town, had won their only previous meeting but it was an uphill battle from the moment Nishikori won the first set on his sixth set point.
Evans made a double-fault to drop the second set and never led in the third-set tiebreaker, in which Nishikori won the last three points.
The winner of the match will play either Kazakhstan or Djokovic's Serbia in July.

Source: Davis Cup Website

Top Seeds David Ferrer, Kei Nishikori Ousted

The top two seeds are stunned in their opening matches in Acapulco, leaving the draw with just three seeds heading into the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Dolgpolov Flogs Ferrer

The Abierto Mexicano Telcel is left with just three seeded players are an upset-laden Wednesday saw the top two seeds fall. Alexandr Dolgopolov scored the first stunner as he beat top seed David Ferrer for just the third time in eleven tries. Dolgopolov dropped his first service game to hand Ferrer a quick 2-0 lead, but the Ukrainian didn't flinch as he broke back to get back on serve in the next game. From there, Dolgopolov would not be troubled on serve as the Spaniard was constantly fighting to stay in his own service games. Ferrer fought off three break points in a testy 7th game, but could not save a 5th break point in the 9th game to see Dolgopolov lead 5-4. The "Dog" would serve out the set at 6-4.
The second set saw both players survive a pair of break points in their second service games as the score eased out to 2-2. Another exchange of holds would see the score at 3-3 when Dolgopolov made the huge breakthrough to secure a 4-3 lead. He would consolidate, but need four match points to put Ferrer away in the final game. Dolgopolov would close the set and match with a 6-4 win in the set.
For the match, Dolgopolov was in control from the baseline as he whipped 22 winners. Following the match, the Ukrainian said that he never felt any pressure in the match, “I think I was quite calm. I was happy I’m on court because I was injured last week. That was the key I think. I played relaxed and the pressure was more on him. I was aggressive and went for my shots. They were the key points."

Querrey Squashes Nishikori

The second big upset of the night came when red hot Sam Querrey smashed second seed Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-3. Nishikori struggled from the opening ball as he would crack on his first service game to give the Delray 

Beach champion a fast 2-0 lead. Querrey settled into a good rhythm over the next three service games to cruise to a 5-3 lead. With the set on his racquet though, the pressure caught him as Nishikori amped up his return game to break the American at-love. The tide would not turn however as the second seed would struggle on serve in an attempt to even the set. Querrey would break back to close out the set. Nishikori rarely touched the Querrey first serve in the set with the American winning 13 of 16 points. The second seed fought to find his consistency on serve in the set, only landing 50 percent of his first serves. That allowed Querrey to take some key points on second serves.

In the second set, Nishikori was under the gun immediately. After a quick Querrey hold, the second seed fell behind in his service game again as he could not land first serves. Nishikori would be broken in a familiar pattern as he landed just 40 percent of his first serves in the set. Querrey would take 11 of 21 second serve points in the second. Querrey combined that with a stellar first serve that dominated to win 15 of 16 points to carry the American to his 7th straight victory. The win also broke a four game losing streak to Nishikori for the American, who had lost to Japan's top man at the Memphis Open earlier this month.

Source: ATP Mexico Open

 

Nishikori and Haase Advance in Acapulco

Japan tennis player Kei Nishikori and deutch Robin Haase, advance in second round of ATP Mexicano (Acapulco) 2016. They easily beats their first opponents. Nishikori beats Thiemo de Bakker 2-0 (6-0; 6-3), also Haase defeated Luis Patino 2-0 in sets (6-1; 6-2)

Nishikori Wins ATP Memphis 2016 Title

Nishikori Completes Historic Memphis Four-Peat

Kei Nishikori hit the high note once again in Memphis, completing a historic four-peat with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over American teen Taylor Fritz on Sunday.
The Japanese joined Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic as the only active players to win four consecutive titles at a single tournament, turning in another efficient performance at the Memphis Open presented by ServiceMaster.
Nishikori found the right chord in the musical metropolis of Memphis, overcoming nine aces and turning aside five of six break points faced. The top seed ended Fritz's Cinderella week after the World No. 145 18-year-old streaked to his first ATP World Tour final in just his third tour-level event.

Nishikori celebrating his 11th ATP World Tour title

"It's amazing to win four in a row," said Nishikori. "I tried not to think about it too much this week. I didn't feel a lot of pressure. It was a tough start again today, but I managed it better. I played better tennis as the match went on and I'm happier with the second set. I only gave him a few points on my serve in the last few games.
"We practised five or six times the past few years in California, so I know how he plays. I never beat him before, so I was happy to beat him in a match. I tried different tactics to make him move more. He has very good reach so it's not easy to hit winners, especially on these slow courts. I had to finish the points strong with my legs.