2011 Sony Ericsson Open: Kei Nishikori, Feliciano Lopez reach second round
Kei Nishikori defeats Jeremy Chardy 7-6(5), 6-2
World number 62 Kei Nishikori of Japan prevailed over world number 49 Jeremy Chardy of France in straight sets 7-6(5), 6-2 in the first round at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Thursday.
In the first set, Nishikori and Chardy were unable to break each other’s serve in the first 12 games, levelling the score at 6-6 to force a tie-break. The Japanese managed to claim a single mini-break in the tie-break, winning
it 7-5.
Nishikori fired in 2 aces and 73 per cent of the first serves in the opening set. On the other hand, Chardy delivered 8 aces but at the same time he committed 4 double faults. The French hit just 48 per cent of the first serves.
However, the 24-year-old won amazingly 100 per cent of the points on the 22 first serves he served correctly.
After winning the first set narrowly, the Japanese never looked back as he broke his opponent twice to win the second set 6-2. Nishikori hit 88 per cent of the first serves in the second set, winning 67 per cent of the points on
them. The 21-year-old won 2 of the 4 break points he received in the second set.
The Japanese will face world number 1 Rafael Nadal of Spain in the second round. The top seed received a bye in the opening round.
Feliciano Lopez beats Richard Berankis 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3
Spanish Feliciano Lopez fought back from one set down to battle past Richard Berankis of Lithuania 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 to qualify for the second round.
Berankis broke Lopez once in the opening set, winning it 6-4. The Lithuanian hit 4 aces and 2 double faults in the opening set. In comparison, his opponent hit 6 aces and 3 double faults. Lopez saved 2 of the 3 break points he
faced in the first set.
The second set saw both players holding their serves to level the score at 6-6, taking the set to a tie-break. Lopez clinched a mini-break early in the tie-break and capitalized on that to win it 7-5. The Spanish fired 10 aces
in the second set.
Lopez was broken by Berankis at the start of the deciding set. However, he broke his opponent three times in the final set to seal it 6-3. The Spanish converted all the 3 break points he received in the third set. On the other
hand, Berankis could win just 1 of the 3 break points. The match lasted for 2 hours and 26 minutes.
The left handed is drawn to meet world number 28 Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina in the second round.
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