CINCINNATI: Yoshihito Nishioka secured a dream result on Wednesday as he defeated longtime idol and Japanese countryman Kei Nishikori 76 (7/2), 6-4 at the ATP Cincinnati Masters. Sixth-seeded Nishikori, Asia’s topranked player, went down to his 77thranked compatriot, who came through qualifying, in just over 90 minutes. For the winner, the secondround success was legendary. “I was so excited to play with him, because he’s the hero of the Japanese tennis, Asian tennis,” Nishioka said.
“I couldn’t sleep yesterday, I know him very well. I was watching him when I was junior. I was learning many things from him. “I tried to go his weakness, I just wanted to be my best against my hero. “This was a very important experience for me.
Today I learned many things from him. The most important thing was to play with him.” Nishikori, a 2014 US Open finalist, has never been past the third round in Cincinnati while Nishioka is making his first appearance. Nishioka aimed for the quarter-finals on Thursday against Australian Alex di Minaur. — AFP
