April 28, 2014 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Japan’s Kei Nishikori made history on Sunday as he became the first Japanese-born player to win a clay-court title on the ATP World Tour. Nishikori disposed of Columbia’s Santiago Giraldo 6-2, 6-2 in the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
Nishikori played mistake-free tennis all afternoon as he blasted two aces and smashed 19 winners to pick up his second victory of the season. He came out firing as he broke Giraldo in three of his four service games and won the first set 6-2 in only 36 minutes.
Giraldo was able to break Nishikori early in the first set, but a tough line call seemed to frustrate the Columbian who was never able to get back on track, as Nishikori reeled off eight straight games following the close call.
The Japanese native carried that momentum into the second set, as the fourth-seeded 24-year old quickly broke Giraldo’s serve and never looked back as he coasted to the 6-2 second set victory.
"I was good on clay when I was little," Nishikori said. "I was winning all the European juniors events. Now it's much tougher than hard courts and I was struggling a bit, but I've been playing well these past couple years so there's no fear to play on clay."
Nishikori becomes the first non-Spaniard to win the championship at Barcelona since 2002, when Argentina’s Gaston Gaudio captured the crown, and moves up to 12th in the ATP Men’s Singles World Rankings.
