Nishikori Battles Back in London to Outlast Ferrer

Kei Nishikori found himself playing a different opponent than he expected when he got up this morning, as Spaniard David Ferrer was called in to replace Canadian Milos Raonic who withdrew with a slight tear in his quad. The 24-year-old Nishikori outlasted Ferrer 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the first three-set match on the singles side all tournament.

“It was really difficult to make this adjustment,” said Nishikori on learning that he was playing Ferrer prior to the match. “They told me one hour before the match, it was tough to change tactics but I prepared well and I’m happy to win today.”

Ferrer, who finished ninth in the Race to London, was the first alternate in case an injury forced any player out of the tournament. With Raonic hurting, Ferrer was sprung into action, and looked very solid early on.

The two would exchange holds throughout the first six games, before Nishikori notched a break point to jump ahead 4-3. Ferrer answered right back with a break of his own to even the set up at 4-4.

Ferrer would get a hold and another break to capture the first set 6-4, taking advantage of 18 unforced errors from Nishikori.

Nishikori came out firing in the second set, though, and was the far better player the rest of the way. He opened the frame up with a break point and held serve the remainder of the set to take it 6-4 and force a deciding third.

With momentum on his side, Nishikori dominated the third. Just like in the second set, he got a break in Ferrer’s first two service games to go up 4-0. Ferrer would hold once more, before Nishikori rattled off the final two games to wrap up the two hour contest.

Nishikori improves to 21-2 on the year in deciding sets.

“The third set was almost perfect,” said Nishikori, the first Asian born player to reach the ATP Finals. “I served well and everything worked well. We’ve played each other four times this year and always three sets.”

Ferrer’s first set win guaranteed a spot in the semifinals for Roger Federer, who takes on Andy Murray later today. Nishikori’s win in the three sets made Murray’s task much harder, as he will need to beat Federer in two sets in order for him to advance. If Federer wins or Murray wins in three sets, Nishikori will find himself in the semifinals.

Playing in his first ever ATP Finals, Nishikori has shown great poise and confidence so far this week in London. After a convincing loss to Federer on Tuesday, Nishikori rebounded nicely against Ferrer to put himself in prime position to advance.