Kei Nishikori has managed to successfully defend his title in Memphis.
The Japanese didn’t have to sweat too much in this tournament as none of his opponents was ranked higher than 80!
In the first round he has beaten Benjamin Becker (world no.88), in the 2nd Bogomolov (no. 96), in the 3rd Michael Russel (no. 98) and in the final Ivo Karlovic (no. 80).
The Croat was the biggest hurdle as with his serve he can beat anybody, but Kei managed to break him in the opening set to then win the tiebreak of the 2nd set at 0. See Match Stats
Nishikori
“It’s amazing to defend a title for the first time, especially here. I had a great memory from last year and I’m playing great, “said the Japanese.
Karlovic
“He’s really fast. He hits winners from any position on the court. That’s his game. He returned really well.” commented Karlovic.
