Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championship semi-finals round up – Tennis News

Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championship semi-finals round up – Tennis News

Olympic gold medallist, Andy Murray, became casualty of the day while crowd favourite Kei Nishikori secured a spot in the final showdown at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championship 2012 on Saturday. The top seeded Murray bowed out to the Canadian number
one, Milos Raonic, after squandering two match points while the eighth seeded Nishikori dumped Cyprus’ Marcos Baghdatis to progress.

Murray, who was playing his first tournament after claiming his maiden Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows, found his rhythm in the second set. He pulled out the equaliser after unleashing his skills in the tie-breaker.

The match was poised at a knife edge and the Dunblane, Scotland native was the one who kept momentum rolling. He got the coveted break in the third game and jumped to a 3-1 lead. However, he not only lost his edge in the seventh game but squandered two match
points in the last game. Adding further to his misery, the Scot was underplayed in the tie-breaker and eventually exited tournament with disappointment.

The delighted Canadian stated in a courtside interview after stealing the limelight:

“Here, from the first match, I’ve been more aggressive, have come in as much as I can when I’ve created the opportunities and play under my terms more so than just waiting around. A big thing I changed coming into this week, is that I’m returning a lot closer.
That took time. A big part of it is mental, preparing [myself] for that and having that instinct and drive to go after it when [I] have the opportunities to get ahead in the points.”

Elsewhere, the Asian number one unveiled his true form and eventually sealed the deal with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Baghdatis. Nishikori swiped his entire serves without facing any breakpoint and broke his opponent’s serve four times to earn the glory.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=33751

Posted by Awais Ahmed on Oct 7 2012. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry