Kei Nishikori, Guillaume Rufin advance to the second round of French Open
Kei Nishikori defeats Yen-Hsun Lu 6-1, 6-3, 6-4
World number 59 Kei Nishikori of Japan thrashed Taiwanese Yen-Hsun Lu, ranked 56th in the world, in straight sets 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Sunday. The Japanese
took two hours and 25 minutes to oust his opponent in a one-sided contest.
Nishikori crushed Lu in the first set, allowing the Taiwanese to win just a single game and clinching the set 6-1. The Japanese delivered 68 percent of the first serves and grabbed 79 percent of the points on them in the opening
set. The 21-year-old hit seven winners and made ten unforced errors in the first set.
The second set saw both players breaking each other on a number of occasions. However, it was Nishikori who broke his opponent four times, claiming the set 6-3. The right-handed fired one ace and 65 percent of the first serves
with a conversion rate of 47 percent in the second set. The Japanese converted four of the 16 break points he received in the second set.
Lu showed some resistance in the deciding set as both players exchanged a single break of serve in the first eight games to level the score at 4-4. After that, Nishikori claimed two successive games and won the set 6-4. The Japanese
converted two of the seven break points on Lu’s serve and saved seven of the eight break points on his own serve in the third set.
The five feet and ten inches tall will face Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine in the second round.
Guillaume Rufin beats Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-3, 6-2
World number 253 Guillaume Rufin of France upset compatriot, world number 53 Adrian Mannarino in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the second round. The match lasted for just an hour and 31 minutes.
Rufin broke Mannarino twice in the first set, clinching it 6-2. The right-handed served quite well as he fired five aces and 68 percent of the first serves in the opening set. The French grabbed 76 percent of the first service
points in the first set. The 20-year-old converted 48 percent of the first returns into points in the opening set.
The French broke his opponent in the eighth game of the second set to grab it 6-3.The unseeded hit three aces and kept his first serve percentage at 57 percent in the second set. The French won two of the three break points he
received on Mannarino’s serve in the second set.
Carrying the winning momentum into the third set, Rufin dropped only two games and captured it 6-2. The French capitalised on two of the four break points he received and did not face any break point in the third set.
Rufin will meet either Bjorn Phau of Germany or compatriot Gael Monfils in the second round.
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