Pere Riba outclasses Kei Nishikori in the first round of the Mutua Madrid Open
Spanish qualifier, Pere Riba had few difficulties in dispensing out the Japanese wildcard, Kei Nishikori in the opening round of the Mutua Madrid Open at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain on Monday. He concluded his straight
sets 6-2, 6-4 victory in just one hour and nineteen minutes to step into the second round of the $4,500,000 ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 1000 tournament.
It was the second time the two men went one on one against each other in the running year. Nishikori defeated the Spaniard a week ago at Barcelona but Riba took his revenge this time by ejecting him from the Madrid Open. This was
the fifth victory for the 76th ranked Spanish in the current ATP season, sending him into the second round of the mega event.
23-year-old Riba took down his opponent with his powerful serve and accurate ground strokes. He fired seven cracking aces to the opponent’s court and committed four double faults, the same number conceded by Nishikori. The two
contestants had plenty of chances to break the opponent’s serve but squandered most of the opportunities. The Spaniard converted six of 11 break points, while Nishikori cashed in three opportunities out of eight in the contest.
Riba’s key to success proved to be his agile footwork, as he anticipated the occasional drop shots from the Japanese competitor very well, converting them into elegant cross-court winners. He secures 25 out of 35 first serve points
in the game and was equally good with his return game.
The opening set belonged to the Spaniard, whose dominance prevailed right from the first minute of play. Six fiery aces from Riba’s racquet proved devastating for his opponent who was put under immense pressure from the beginning.
The Spaniard won 11 of 15 first serve points in the first set and clouted three timely serve breaks to overwhelm Nishikori. The Japanese managed to sneak a break point but it proved worthless against the power hitting of Riba. The opening set eventually fell
to Riba’s name at 6-2, giving him the upper hand in the contest.
Nishikori uplifted his game in the following set and cracked two serve breaks but had to suffer three break points from his opponent. The governing Spaniard finally ended the contest in the tenth game of the second set, settling
the score at 6-4 to step into the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open.
The real challenge waits for Riba in the second round, as he goes one on one against the tall Frenchman, world number 22, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The French upset the 10th seed Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-1, 6-3, in the opening
round of the tournament to meet Riba in the second round.
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