Yesterday’s rain delay was a blessing in disguise for Japan’s Kei Nishikori as he battled past Hyeon Chung 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(4), 0-6, 6-4, at the French Open on Sunday.
The eighth seed was pushed to his limits by the 21-year-old, who was playing in his first ever grand slam third round. On Saturday, it was evident that Chung’s play frustrated his more experienced rival. During one stage of the match, the Japanese player received a warning for racket abuse after smashing it onto the ground.
“I think the rain helped me a lot, because I was really down in the fourth set and mentally I wasn’t ready.” Nishikori explained. “I knew I had to change something to beat him today, so I think I made some adjustments to make myself a little better than yesterday.”
Resuming play at 3-0 in Chung’s favour in the fourth set, a shock appeared to be on the cards. Illustrating the tennis that earned him an ATP award for most improved player in 2015, the South Korean moved a faltering Nishikori around the court to seal the bagel set. To put this into perspective, the last player to bagel Nishikori was Andy Murray at the 2015 Montreal Masters.
The gap in the rankings between the two proved irrelevant in the deciding set. Both players had their chances. First, it was Nishikori who had a double break point to move ahead 2-0, but was denied by Chung. A familiar scenario occurred in the following game, but in reverse. Still, it was the greater experience of Nishikori that prevailed with a winning forehand securing the break for 3-1.
Serving for a place in the fourth round, the world No.9 continued to struggle to tame his rival as a swift Chung backhand down the line retrieved the break. Chung’s efforts were admirable, but they were not enough. In a somewhat undeserving manor, Nishikori clinched the victory over his opponent after he produced a double fault on match point.
“I think today I was playing much better than yesterday.” Said Nishikori. “End of the set yesterday, it was really, really tight game but I’m really happy to win.”
During what was a roller coaster encounter, Nishikori’s 62 winners were overshadowed by a total of 69 unforced errors.
He will next player Fernando Verdasco on Monday, who dropped just six games in his third round clash against Pablo Cuevas. It will be the second time the two players have played each other at Roland Garros. The first occurred in 2015 when Nishikori prevailed in five sets.
A honour to play Nishikori
Despite his disappointment, Chung has praised his Japanese rival. The encounter between the two players was an historic one with it being the first time an all-Asian match has occurred beyond the second round in the men’s draw at a grand slam.
“It was great honour to play with Kei. He’s a great player in the world.” Said Chung. “Today was tough match against Kei. It was really fast and good strokes. But I tried my best and I’m waiting for another day.”
Chung enters the upcoming grass season with now specific goals on his mind, but he admits he is eyeing breaking the world top-50 in the near future. His previous ranking best was 51st back in 2015.
