In the early hours of the UK morning, Marin Cilic got his US Open title defence preperations off to a fiery start as he battled through his opening round encounter against South Korea's Hyeon Chung. Earlier in the day, Kei Nishikori continued his recovery from injury, as he fought back from a set down to defeat James Duckworth of Australia.
Nishikori is pushed all the way
James Duckworth may not be a household name, unlike his opponent, but the world number 95 started the match brightly and played with an intensity throughout the match which saw him hit 15 winners in a close first set. The momentum of the set went back and fourth, with Duckworth having to fend off a set point before setting up a tie break, which the young Aussie fought through to win 10-8 in a lenghty test of endurance.
At this point, it looked like Nishikori, a quarter finalist in 2014, would fall to a man ranked much lower than him and an opponent who had lost in last year's first round. But, the Japanese player regrouped and came out fighting, nullifying the threat of Duckworth with delicate defensive work, before punching through the Aussie to take the second set 6-1.
The third set played out much more like the first, with both players showing moments of class, but Nishikori was ultimately victorious in the end, as he won 6-4 for a 6-7 (8) 6 -1 6-4. 'From second set I started playing more solid, less unforced errors, little more aggressive, everything worked well. I’m happy with after second set.' He told the ATP website after the game.
Young South Korean prodigy tests Cilic
Marin Cilic may be the reigning US Open champion, but at times it proved hard to tell as he had to call on all of his experience to defeat 19 year olf Hyeong Chung in two tight sets. Chung who is now ranked at 77th in the world, has enjoyed a productive 2015 on the challenger circuit and looked to bring that form onto the main tour, whereas Cilic has had an inconsistent 2015 as he looks to build upon his maiden Grand Slam success.
In the last match of the day, the two players pushed one another all the way in the opening set, as they arrived at a tiebreak, in which Cilic won to the loss of only two points to finally dampen the flame of Chung. This proved telling in the second set, as Cilic finally grasped the upper hand to win 6-3 with a break of serve, to seal a 7-6(2) 6-3 victory.
Cilic will now go on to face Sam Querrey of American in the third round, with the American defeating Go Soeda in round two, whilst Nishikori will face the winner of the Leaonardo Mayer and Blaz Rola second round encounter.