May 9, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
Kei Nishikori scored perhaps the biggest win of his career in Madrid on Thursday, a upset over defending champion Roger Federer 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 in the third round of the 2013 Mutua Madrid Open. It was Nishikori’s eighth Top 10 win and first since beating number six Tomas Berdych in the 2012 Tokyo quarterfinals. Two years ago, Nishikori defeated world number one Novak Djokovic in the Basel semifinals before losing to Federer in the finals.
"He was my idol. Actually, to beat him, that was one of my goals for my tennis career," said Nishikori. "It happens on clay and it’s amazing. It’s not really my favorite surface. I wasn’t really expecting this."
Now into the quarterfinals, Nishikori looks to reach his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semifinal when he takes on Spanish wild card Pablo Andujar. Andujar’s opponent, Daniel Gimeno-Traver, was forced to retire with a leg abductor injury. Nishikori beat Andujar two years ago in Winston-Salem in their one previous meeting.
Federer was playing his first tournament in two months, since losing to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Federer won the Madrid title for the third time in 2012 with a win over Berdych.
