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Nishikori takes out the 23-seed Karen Khachanov in five-set marathon

By Justin Gincauskas

PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 02: Kei Nishikori of Japan plays a forehand during his mens second round match against Karen Khachanov of Russia during day four of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros on June 02, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 02: Kei Nishikori of Japan plays a forehand during his mens second round match against Karen Khachanov of Russia during day four of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros on June 02, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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Kei Nishikori came back from being down two sets to one to Karen Khachanov on Wednesday, defeating the 23-seed from Russia 4-6, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a four-hour marathon match.

Nishikori came into the match on a two-match winning streak against Khachanov, defeating him on clay earlier this year at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid. Both players did not have a great clay court season leading up the French Open, but both have had great success at Roland Garros in previous years.

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For Khachanov, this is his first time losing before the fourth round at the French Open since he lost in the second round of qualifying back in 2016. For Nishikori, he is back in the third round after being eliminated in the second round at last year’s tournament.

There was not much separating the two in the match on Wednesday, as both players had the same number of double faults, same winning percentage at the net, and almost the same second serve winning percentage.

The biggest differences between the two in the match was that Nishikori was better on the first serve and was able to generate a lot more break point opportunities. He won 68% of the points on his first serve, which was eight percent higher than Khachanov, according to Infosys Match Centre.

Winner Japan’s Kei Nishikori (L) congratulates Russia’s Karen Khachanov at the end of their men’s singles second round tennis match on Day 4 of The Roland Garros 2021 French Open tennis tournament in Paris on June 2, 2021. (Photo by MARTIN BUREAU / AFP) (Photo by MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images)
Winner Japan’s Kei Nishikori (L) congratulates Russia’s Karen Khachanov at the end of their men’s singles second round tennis match on Day 4 of The Roland Garros 2021 French Open tennis tournament in Paris on June 2, 2021. (Photo by MARTIN BUREAU / AFP) (Photo by MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images) /

Since Nishikori was better on the first serve, he was able to hold Khachanov to fewer break point chances. Khachanov had 12 chances to break in the match and was only able to convert on four of those opportunities, while Nishikori had 19 chances to break, and broke Khachanov five times, with the last one coming in the final game of the match to seal the win.

Next up for Nishikori will be Henri Laaksonen, who upset Roberto Bautista Agut earlier today in four sets.

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