Kei Nishikori thrashes Di Wu to enter round two – Shanghai Rolex Masters 2012
Asian number one, Kei Nishikori from Japan, tumbled the local wild card entrant, Di Wu, in straight sets at the Shanghai Rolex Masters 2012 on Tuesday. He recorded a 6-2, 6-4 victory against the world number 179 to power into second round at this ATP (Association
of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event held in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China.
Seeded 14th in this event, Nishikori showed spectacular tennis to overpower the local contender in their first encounter. After recording the victory in one hour and 12 minutes, Nishikori comfortably secured a place in the second round at this
outdoor hard court event.
“Obviously, it's not easy to play [so soon] after winning the tournament,” the Japanese number one stated in a courtside interview after conquering Wu. “But I had a good day today…I love to play here.” Last year, he reached the semi-finals.
Nishikori, who became first Japanese to conquer the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, made a powerful entry at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena. After availing two break chances, the Japanese cruised to a 4-1 lead. Despite losing his serve in
fifth game, the Japanese broke his rival’s serve again and eventually sealed the opener by winning six games to two.
Standing at his career high ranking at number 15 in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Nishikori kept momentum sailing in the proceeding set. He swiftly swiped his entire serves without facing any barrier. The Japanese got the breakthrough
in the seventh game and clinched the set with a 6-4 score line.
Overall, the 22-year-old availed four out of nine break opportunities to dominate. He manifested a better first serve share of 65 per cent as compared to his rival’s 60 per cent and brilliantly availed 26 out of 32 points on it. The Japanese also coughed
fewer errors and finished the match with 66 points.
Nishikori will next face the American veteran, Sam Querrey, who also crushed a local wild card recipient, Zhe Li, in straight sets to set up this meeting. The American star crippled Li with a breadstick in just under an hour to set up this meeting.
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