Kei Nishikori earned his first Top 20 win since 2021 on Thursday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers in Montreal, where he upset World No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round at ATP Masters 1000 level for the first time in three years.
The Japanese lefty, currently No. 576 in the PIF ATP Rankings, rolled back the years with an impressive display against Tsitsipas to become the third lowest-ranked player to reach the last 16 at an ATP Masters 1000 event since the series began in 1990.
“It means a lot,” Nishikori said after reaching the third round. “I am playing well and feels I am back on track again, so I am really happy with the way I played today.”
Nishikori won 92 per cent (11/12) of net points and 60 per cent (9/15) of points on Tsitsipas’ second-serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to advance after just 79 minutes at the hard-court event.
“Beating Stef is not easy and for me it is a great win,” Nishikori added. “I stayed aggressive and was not missing too many balls today. It was much better than the first round.”
The 2016 finalist, making his ninth appearance at the Canadian Masters 1000 tournament, will next face Portugal’s Nuno Borges, who ousted 12th seed Ugo Humbert 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4).
Nishikori is a 12-time tour-level titlist and rose to a career-high No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings in 2015. The 34-year-old has been plagued by injuries in recent years and prior to Tuesday's win against Alex Michelsen, had not earned a victory at ATP Masters 1000 level since Indian Wells in 2021.
[ATP APP]Alejandro Davidovich Fokina also scored a major upset when he overcame World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev for just his third Top 5 win.
The Spaniard fired 24 winners en route to a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 triumph against 2021 champion Medvedev. With his one-hour, 56-minute win, Davidovich Fokina improved to 1-4 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
"It has not been an easy year for me. A lot of changes in my life," Davidovich Fokina said. "To have this opportunity to beat a player like Daniil gives me a lot of strength and power to continue to grow. I am very happy with this win. At the end of the set it is not easy to close a match and less with Daniil because he is a very solid player. I had to be calm today and not think about the result."
The 25-year-old, who reached the semi-finals at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event last year in Toronto, will next play Matteo Arnaldi after the Italian beat Karen Khachanov 7-5, 7-5.
Medvedev was competing in his first hard-court match since he reached the semi-finals in Miami in March. The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals champ, who is fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, is still seeking his first title since May 2023 when he won in Rome.
In a lunchtime of upsets, American qualifier Brandon Nakashima defeated countryman Tommy Paul 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-1 to reach the third round at a Masters 1000 event for the second time.
The 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion saved both break points he faced, hit 26 winners and just 11 unforced errors to seal his win after two hours and 14 minutes.
Nakashima holds a 3-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Paul, having also earned wins against the 10th seed in 2022 and 2023. Nakashima will next play fifth seed Andrey Rublev.
Paul’s early exit means he missed the chance to climb in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The American is 10th in the Live Race To Turin and 150 points behind eighth-placed Tsitsipas, who occupies the final qualification spot. Paul is 34-13 on the season and has clinched crowns in Dallas and Queen’s Club.
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