The newly crowned Indian Wells champion Juan Martin Del Potro produced an almost flawless display of tennis to crush Kei Nishikori 6-2 6-2 in 72 minutes to move into the fourth round of the Miami Open here at Crandon Park, Key Biscayne today.
Although the tall Argentinean, seeded 5, led the career head to head encounters 5-2 coming into the match, they were tied 2-2 on hard courts, with the Japanese winning the most recent match in straight sets in Washington last year.
Both men have been hampered by wrist injury requiring surgery during their respective careers, and it would appear that Nishikori, seeded 26, is still some way from finding his best tennis as he seeks to move back into the higher echelons of the game once again.
After fending off a break point in his opening service game with an ace, the 2009 US open champion dominated the match with his powerful forehand working at Mach 5. He broke the error strewn Nishikori in the fifth game, converting on his fourth break point as the Japanese’s forehand drive found the net. A second break quickly ensued in the next Nishikori game as Del Potro thumped a forehand winner up the line to move ahead 5-2. A 121 mph ace out wide saw the Argentinean serve out the 35 minute opening set to love at a canter.
Things continued to go downhill rapidly for Nishikori as he dropped his serve for a third successive time at the start of the second set as his backhand volley found the net. And after breaking again for 4-1, Del Potro quickly found himself at match point two games later as Nishikori struggled to hold onto his serve yet again.
Although Japan’s top ranked player rallied defiantly to save four match points on serve to prolong the match for another 10 minutes, Del Potro finally closed out the match on serve on his sixth match point.
Del Potro was asked about his effective use of the drop shot against Nishikori and whether that was a conscious tactic: “I was planning to do that before the match, make him run with all my shots”, he explained. “I did well. I took all my break chances. I served well. I think he is still (trying) to get the power he had in the past. But he’s (well on the way) to get that. He just needs time to recover his best game.”
“I think that I’m playing good”, Del Potro said concerning his form coming into the match. “I can play even better, but I need to get confidence playing in this court, trying to keep winning matches. But it’s not easy. My body start to feel tight because of all my success. But I’m enjoying a lot playing this tournament. I would like to stay longer because it’s a special tournament for me. It’s the last time in Key Biscayne, so I would love to stay here for a few more days.”
