Japanese teenager Kei Nishikori beat American Robert Kendrick in three sets yesterday to advance to the second round of the Japan Open.
Nishikori downed Kendrick 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-2 in Tokyo and will meet Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the second round today.
Defending champion David Ferrer of Spain?-- the top-seed at the US$869,000 tournament --has a first-round bye along with second-seeded Andy Roddick of the United States.
In other first-round matches, Croatia's Roko Karanusic defeated Japanese qualifier Hiroki Kondo 6-2, 6-2. Karanusic will next meet No. 9 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.
Wayne Odesnik of the US downed compatriot Kevin Kim 6-4, 6-3 to set up a clash with Serb Viktor Troicki, while Jesse Levine, also of the US, rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 win over Thailand's Danai Udomchoke. Levine will face Ferrer next.
In the women's bracket, there were two upsets.
Russian 17-year-old Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova knocked out third-seeded Zheng Jie of China 6-1, 6-2, while Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic eliminated fourth-seeded Maria Kirilenko of Russia 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.
Pavlyuchenkova advanced to a second-round meeting with Japanese qualifier Rika Fujiwara, while Zakopalova will take on Poland's Marta Domachowska.
Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark avoided becoming another high-profile casualty when she rallied from a set down to defeat Gisela Dulko of Argentina, 4-6, 6-0, 6-3. Wozniacki's next opponent will be Japanese wildcard Ayumi Morita.
Israel's Shahar Peer, seeded sixth, beat Japanese veteran Kimiko Krumm Date 6-3, 6-1. The 38-year-old Date, who made her comeback to tennis this year, won this event four times in the 1990s.
Nishikori took control of his match when he broke Kendrick with a blistering crosscourt forehand to go ahead 3-2 in the third set. He won the match when Kendrick's return in the final game was long.
"He's got a very good serve," Nishikori, 18, said of his opponent. "I knew I just had to wait for a chance and finally I got it in the third set and was able to break him."
Nishikori, ranked 84th in the world, was returning to Japan after losing in the first round of this tournament in his debut last year.
He beat American James Blake at Delray Beach in February to win his first ATP singles title and also beat world No. 4 Ferrer in the third round of the US Open before falling to Argentine Juan Martin del Potro in the fourth round.
In Stuttgart, Germany, Serena Williams will be seeking to defend her No. 1 ranking. Serbian Jelena Jankovic, who won the China Open on Sunday, is only 21 points behind.
The nine-time grand slam champion from the US had a first-round bye and will play Li Na in her opener. The Chinese player beat Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2 in the tournament's first match on Monday.
Third-ranked Dinara Safina and No. 4 Elena Dementieva, who won the Olympic singles gold, also could end the year as No. 1. The pair and Jankovic also had first-round byes.
Dementieva will play Sybille Bammer of Austria, while Jankovic meets Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine, who beat Eleni Daniilidou of Greece 7-6 (5), 6-1. Bammer beat German wildcard Tatjana Malek 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily October 1, 2008)