Kei Nishikori: Dubai top seed cruises through opener

Japanese tennis star Kei Nishikori is off to a strong start at the 2019 Dubai Tennis Championships. The top seed wins his opener.

Kei Nishikori is through to the round of 16 at the 2019 Dubai Tennis Championships. The Japanese tennis star is the current world number six in men’s singles. He enters the action this week as the top seed in Dubai and, so far, he is living up to the billing.

The top seed knocks out French tennis veteran Benoît Paire in straight sets. Nishikori wins their match with ease, going 6-4, 6-3 in his Dubai debut.

Up next for the top seeded Nishikori is young Polish tennis player Hubert Hurkacz. We have to consider Nishikori a heavy favorite in their upcoming match. Hurkacz is coming off of an impressive straight set victory over Corentin Moutet but he will need to replicate that performance if he hopes to challenge Nishikori next.

Hurkacz squares off against the world number six on Wednesday at the Dubai Tennis Championships. The young Polish tennis player is the current world number 77 on the ATP Tour. Look for Nishikori to come out strong as he’ll aim for another impressive win.

During his meeting with Paire, Nishikori did face some resistance early on in the match. The Japanese great noted a game at 2-1 in the first set that was crucial for his momentum moving forward. After that point, Nishikori became the far more confident of the two and he would end up claiming victory in just over 80 minutes.

Also in action at the Dubai Tennis Championships is Swiss legend Roger Federer. The second seed wins his opener at the event, advancing through to the round of 16. While it took three sets to defeat Philipp Kohlschreiber, a win is a win.

Up next for Federer in Dubai is Fernando Verdasco. Look for both he and the top seed Kei Nishikori to be favorites in the upcoming matches. Stay tuned to see if the Japanese tennis star can continue his dominant performance at the 2019 Dubai Tennis Championships.