Bookmark this page to:        
Current rating: 0 (0 ratings)
Kei Nishikori Stops Tsonga, Top Seeds Advance
By: Dennis Bray
|
Photo Credit: Mark Peterson / Corleve
|
 (January 23, 2012) A very exciting day 8 concluded with Novak Djokovic dismissing Australia’s last hope Lleyton Hewitt in a less than impressive four set win. Before that though, the day featured impressive tennis from Kei Nishikori, who recorded the biggest upset of the tournament thus far.
The Japanese rising star needed three and a half hours to fight off the feisty Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a five set thriller. Tsonga got off to a quick start, taking the first set 6-2 in just over 30 minutes. Nishikori would respond and completely take over the match for the next ninety minutes.
Tsonga saw his shots start spraying and it seemed like Japan’s tennis savior would be a sure thing to move on after taking the second and third sets 6-2, 6-1. Trailing two sets to one, Tsonga caught fire while Nishikori finally started to falter.
The Frenchman blasted his way to a 6-3 fourth set win, and set up a winner take all final set. With experience and momentum on his side, Tsonga seemed to be well on his way. Nishikori had other ideas.
The 22-year old dominated the fifth set in route to a 6-3 victory and a spot in his first ever Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance where he’ll face Andy Murray, who was leading Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1, 6-1, 1-0 before Kukushkin retired due to an apparent hip injury. The Scot has yet to be challenged thus far, only losing a set in the first round to American Ryan Harrison.
In other 4th round action, Richard Gasquet saw his run come to a screeching halt when David Ferrer made quick work of him in a 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 victory. The Spaniard dominated from the start, converting on 7 of 9 break chances and winning an unbelievable 40 of 46 points when making his first serve.
Gasquet had trouble all match long and couldn’t find the rhythm he’d seen during the first week. Ferrer moves on to face Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, who defeated a battered Lleyton Hewitt in four sets.
The Serb ran into trouble after being up two sets to none and 3-0 in the third. Hewitt would win 6 of the next 7 games and roll to a 6-4 third set victory. However, the number one player in the world would grab hold of the fourth set and match, getting a break to go up 4-2 and cruising to a 6-3 triumph. Djokovic would just be too much for the Australian, hitting 16 winners to Hewitt’s seven in the final set.
With the round of 16 done, the quarterfinals are set.
Novak Djokovic vs. David Ferrer
Rafael Nadal vs. Tomas Berdych
Roger Federer vs. Juan Martin del Potro
Andy Murray vs. Kei Nishikori
No data found
|