Kei Nishikori faced a stiff test from Frenchman Julien Benneteau in the second round at Wimbledon. However, the top Japanese player on the ATP rebounded to overcome Benneteau's opening set victory and stave off any thoughts of an upset. The fifth seed won 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
Strong beginnings for the Frenchman
Benneteau, at 34 years of age, is trying to revive his career after having it stalled due to a nasty hernia injury that rendered him noncompetitive for much of last season. The French player got off to a fantastic start in the first set against Nishikori.
The two men played a largely even affair, though throughout the first several games both players littered the grass court with a litany of errors. That amount of mistakes caught up with Nishikori first, as he dropped the final game in the opening set.
The number one Japanese player actually took a lead in his final service game of the set. However, mistakes led to Benneteau evening the game at 30-30. Then, Nishikori failed to rise to the challenge. After yet another error, and facing set point, Nishikori misdirected a volley attempt and handed his French counterpart the first set.
The crowd went into a frenzy, sniffing the beginnings of an upset.
Kei responds with force
However, Benneteau's moment of triumph wouldn't last. For a while, things looked to have a positive outcome for the Frenchman. He was able to save two break-points posted by a suddenly resurgent Nishikori, but on the third attempt, the world number six broke through. He used a strong backhand winner in the seventh game of the set to claim the break.
In the subsequent game, Nishikori held to 15 and consolidated a commanding lead in the set. In his next service game, the higher seed posted three strong winners and forced two powerful shots to Benneteau's forehand to claim the set and even the match 1-1.
From there, Nishikori coasted to a victory.
Moving on
Nishikori began the following set with a huge 5-2 lead and after two hours and three minutes, he took a commanding lead when he pumped out an ace that gave him the third set.
The end of the match was but a quick formality. Just thirty minutes later, Nishikori splashed a backhand winner on match point and completed an 180-degree rebound for a rebound for a resounding victory.
Nishikori will face Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia in the third round, who defeated Gilles Muller in straight sets. The two have faced each other three times before, with Nishikori leading the head to head 2-1. Kuznetsov's only win against the Japanese came in 2010, after Nishikori retired in the second set in Eastbourne.