Russian underdog Daniil Medvedev has stunned third seed Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-4, to win the Japan Open title in Tokyo.
Medvedev, who was unseeded in the draw, proved too strong against a lacklustre Nishikori. The world No.32 faced only one break point throughout the match, which he saved successfully, and broke his opponent three times. Medvedev managed to power his way to the title with the help of 15 winners compared to only seven unforced errors. A sharp contrast to Nishikori’s tally of seven and 27.
“I would like to thank Kei. He’s a great champion, one of the best players in our sport. That makes my win even more important.” Medvedev said during the trophy ceremony.
Perhaps the most impressive display from Medvedev concerned his serve. In total he dropped just five points whilst serving. Winning 93% (25-27) of first service points and 81% (13/16) of second. Throughout the entire tournament, he dropped serve only four times.
Tokyo is the third title the 22-year-old has won this season after Sydney and Winston-Salem. On route to his latest triumph, Medvedev scored wins over Diego Schwartzman, Denis Shapovalov and Milos Raonic. It is the second time that the Russian has managed to win a ATP title after coming through the qualifying rounds. He also did so in Sydney.
Sunday’s defeat extend Nishikori’s losing streak in ATP World Tour finals. Since winning the 2016 Memphis Open, the former US Open runner-up has lost eight consecutive finals. The loss is also a blow to his chances of reaching the ATP Finals next month. When the rankings are updated on Monday, Nishikori will be in 10th place with 2830 points. Only the top eight players will qualify.
“He’s serving great. I didn’t have any chance on his first serve, even second serve,” Nishikori said of Medvedev. “His ball was skipping a lot with this surface and he was hitting good enough flat shots and he was serving great, so it was tough to play against Daniil today.”
As a result of the win, Medvedev will rise to a ranking high of 22 in the ATP rankings tomorrow. Making him the Russian No.1 ahead of Karen Khachanov. He exits Tokyo with a winner prize money payment of $384,120.
