Japanese teen upsets Granollers in Stockholm
7/10/2008 16:10
An injured and ailing Kei Nishikori caused an upset at the Stockholm ATP
Open as the 18-year-old rallied past eighth-seeded Marcel Granollers 2-6, 6-4,
6-2 in the opening round yesterday.
Entering the tournament as wild card, the
Japanese teen had to ask for treatment in the second set, dealing with his
hurting right knee.
"I've felt the pain for almost two days, I took a
painkiller but it didn't help. I also have a cold, I'm not in my best
condition," Nishikori said. "I was thinking about retiring for more than 10
times, but luckily I kept on playing."
In the second set, Nishikori broke the
Spaniard on his second break point to lead 5-4 and held to love to force a
decisive set. There, Nishikori twice broke for 3-0 and clinched the match when
Granhollers hit two consecutive forehands long.
Ranked at a career best 77th,
the Tokyo resident will next meet Dominik Hrbaty in the second round, who
thrashed Pablo Andujar of Spain 6-2, 6-1.
Elsewhere, Ecuador's Nicolas
Lapentti, a former top 10 player, returned nine years after his Stockholm
quarter-final, spending nearly three hours in overcoming Ivan Navarro of Spain
3-6, 7-6(7), 7-5.
Xinhua
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