On court Philippe Chatrier, Kei Nishikori defeated Italian Simone Bolelli 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 in a match carried over from the first day of Roland Garros. They have previously met twice before at Wimbledon, with both matches being five-setters.
Dominant Nishikori
In the first service game, Nishikori got off to a great start, with Bolelli over hitting a backhand giving the Japanese the breakthrough. In the following game, he was slightly troubled by Bolelli but came through and consolidated his break for 2-0. The good start continued for the fifth seed, and in the fourth game, he pushed his Italian opponent to advantage which resulted in earning a break point that Nishikori would take forcing the error from the 30-year-old to give him a healthy 4-1 lead.
The world number six held his serve for 5-1 and in the upcoming game, having had one set point saved, Nishikori would eventually take his chance on the Bolelli serve at advantage forcing the Italian to overhit a backhand shot giving the 26-year-old the first set 6-1. Nishikori hit seven winners to Bolelli's five throughout the set.
Bolelli fights but loses set
With the first set won comfortably, Nishikori would have to work harder for the second set. Having held his opening game to love, the following service game saw the 2015 quarterfinalist break Bolelli by attacking his serve and winning the point to go 2-0 up. Just like the first set Nishikori would hold his serve and gain a 3-0 lead. However, Bolelli would fight his way back into the set. The fifth game would see the Italian, who has struggled with a knee injury lately battle back earning a break following a missed backhand from Nishikori.
Bolelli held his own serve and brought the set all square at 3-3. The next three games would see both players hold their serve. In the tenth game, Bolelli would be forced to dig in and work for it, saving two set points en route to holding for 5-5. The Japanese comfortably held his serve to love and with the set coming to a close, Nishikori needed only one chance to close the game out for a two-set lead.
Late break seals match for Japanese
The third set started slowly with both players holding their opening games pretty comfortably. The Italian's backhands began to flow off the racket with pace and power while Nishikori was often finding himself being made to run and work harder, however on Bolelli's service games he seemed to push him. With the set coming to a close, the third was still undecided and with the score at 3-3 on the fifth seeds serve, Bolelli earned a break point opportunity at 30-40. However, Nishikori saved the point and went on to hold for 4-3 as he looked to close it out in straights.
The following game would see the Japanese break the Italian and go 5-3 up with a chance at serving for a place in the second round. Nishikori would be made to work for it, saving two break points from 15-40. On his second match point, the world number 6 sealed the victory and booked a place in the second round, where he will face Russian Andrey Kuznetsov who also won in straight sets.