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By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, November 14, 2016

 
Kei Nishikori

Kei Nishikori broke serve four times carving out a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Stan Wawrinka in his ATP World Tour Finals round-robin opener.

Photo credit: Ashley Western/CameraSport

The sounds of squealing sneakers emanating from across the net served as a constant reminder of Kei Nishikori's approaching pressure.

Creeping inside the baseline to greet Stan Wawrinka's second serve, Nishikori won the battle of court positioning and frequently took forceful first strikes in backing up the US Open champion.

Watch: Top 5 ATP Seasons

A sharp Nishikori broke serve four times dissecting a pained Wawrinka, 6-2, 6-3, in their opening round-robin match of the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

The third-seeded Nishikori served just 46 percent but did not face a break point in an authoritative 67-minute sweep.

It was Nishikori's second win over the three-time Grand Slam champion in three meetings this season. The Japanese baseliner beat Wawrinka in the Toronto semifinals before Wawrinka scored a four-set win in the US Open semifinals in September.

The match pitted two of the best backhands in the sport: Wawrinka's heavy and versatile one-hander vs. Nishikori's compact and accurate two-hander, but the 2014 US Open finalist kept the rallies brief with aggressive ball-striking.

Black kinesiology snaked around Wawrinka's left knee and he seemed to struggle at times pushing up on his serve. Nishikori earned double break point in the opening game, but committed four consecutive errors as Wawrinka held.

In the fifth game, Wawrinka ran into break-point problems again. He saved the first with a heavy kick serve into the body, but netted a forehand sitter to face a second break point. Working his way forward, Nishikori knocked off a short forehand breaking for 3-2.

Unsettled by Nishikori's predatory return position, the US Open champion clanked a pair of double faults donating a double-break, 5-2 lead to Nishikori.




Serving for the set, Nishikori soared for a beautiful leaping high backhand volley to open the eighth game. He closed with a slick side spinning backhand volley winner for a one-set lead after a half hour of play.

Nishikori broke twice and won 16 of 20 points played on his serve in the first set.

The third-seeded Swiss' serve let him down it the first set. A judgment lapse cost him in the second set. Staring down break point, Wawrinka attacked and had a play on a high passing shot but opted to let the ball go mistakenly believing it would stray wide. The shot landed right in the corner as Nishikori broke for 4-2.




Cruising through service games, the fifth seed capped a love hold with his fifth ace for 4-2.

Successive backhand errors from Wawrinka ended the 67-minute match.

Nishikori raised his 2016 record to 58-18. The 31-year-old Wawrinka dropped to 45-17 on the season.


 

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