WHAT HAPPENED: 2014 US Open finalist and twice semifinalist Kei Nishikori needed all of his big game pedigree to turn back a dogged Salvatore Caruso, 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3, in the first round of the 2021 US Open on Tuesday.
What seemed like it would be a runway victory turned into a tense battle of wills, strokes, and nerves in the closing sets of the two hour and 41 minute tussle.
Through it all, the 31-year-old Nishikori showed no effects of a right shoulder injury that forced the Japanese star to pull out of the Canadian Open earlier this month in his return to Flushing Meadows after missing last year with a bad elbow.
Nishikori raced through the first two sets in just less than an hour of nearly flawless play (13 unforced errors) on a sun-splashed Grandstand court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center that was once again packed with fans.
However, in an unexpected reversal of form and fortune the Italian clay court specialist Caruso clawed back into the match in the 52-minute third set. Caruso broke serve in the 12th game, grabbing the set on the Nishikori’s 16th unforced error in the stanza.
The fourth set was an entertaining duel with the pair banging groundstrokes at each other in lengthy baseline exchanges. There were five consecutive service breaks starting in the third game. Nishikori got the fifth and decisive one for a 4-3 lead. He broke one final time on a Caruso backhand error to wrap up the hard earned win.
WHAT IT MEANS: Currently No. 56 in the world, it is the first time since 2010 that Nishikori has been ranked out of the world top 50 at the US Open since 2010.
It has been an uneven 2021 season for him with a fourth round French Open showing sandwiched between a first round Australian Open exit and a second round Wimbledon loss.
However, the summer season has been trending up. He reached the Washington semifinals and lost in the Olympics in Tokyo in the quarterfinals to Novak Djokovic.
MATCH POINT: Can Nishikori avenge a loss to American Mackenzie McDonald who beat him in the Washington semifinals last month in the next round?
