Kei Nishikori wins a complicated match against Fernando Verdasco in the 3rd round of the French Open. Everything looked smooth for the Japanese after he won the first two sets; then, Verdasco managed to find his way back in the match to bring the fight to the decider. Eventually, it was Nishikori to find the decisive break in the 5th game and win the match 6-3 6-4 3-6 2-6 6-4.
Nishikori. It was a tough match
Kei commented “First of all, I’m very happy. It was a tough, tough five sets. He started playing much better in the third and fourth, and even the first couple of games in the final set, too. So it wasn’t easy, but very happy to win.”
Next vs. Gasquet
Kei will play the 4th round against home favorite Richard Gasquet. The head to head is 6-2 for the Frenchman, but Nishikori leads 2-0 on clay courts, and that happened this month in Rome and Madrid. “I will try to prepare well,” commented Nishikori. “First of all, I have to recover well from today’s match. Gasquet is from here, so it’s not easy. But I have a good feeling against Richard, especially winning our last two matches. So I will try to play good tennis.”
Can Nishikori beat Gasquet in Paris? |
THE DRAW |
BATTLING THROUGH |
I would put my money on Gasquet this time. Nishikori is already tired and he doesn`t have big stamina. Also the Roland Garros clay is extremely slow and gasquet will have the full backing of his home crowd