Exciting Japanese rising star Kei Nishikori, 19, upset world No.20 and fifth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6(7) 6-3 to book a Thursday quarterfinal clash with France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu.
Nishikori came into the tournament ranked as the world No.61 but may have to re-think his “Project 45” nickname judging by his current form.
He earned his moniker at his training base, Florida’s famous Bollettieri Academy, as his major goal is to get to world No.45 – one better than Japanese record of No.46 set by Shuzuo Matsuoka in 1992.
He moved more than 200 spots to be the youngest player in the top 100 for 2008, winning through to the US Open fourth round on debut and claiming his maiden ATP title along the way.
Men’s singles round 2
Kei Nishikori (JPN) d [5] Tomas Berdych (CZE) 7-6(7) 6-3
[8] Radek Stepanek (CZE) d Michael Llodra (FRA) 7-6(2) 6-3
[2] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) d Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 0-6 7-6(1) 7-6(5)
[3] Fernando Verdasco (ESP) d Mario Ancic (CRO) 6-2 6-3
Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) d Ernests Gulbis (LAT) 6-3 6-4
Florent Serra (FRA) d Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 6-4 6-3
Women’s singles round 2
Olga Govortsova (BLR) d Sesil Karatantcheva (BUL) 6-0 5-7 7-5
[1] Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d Roberta Vinci (ITA) 6-7(4) 7-5 6-1
Sara Errani (ITA) d Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 6-7(3) 7-5 6-3
[5] Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) d Julie Coin (FRA) 5-7 6-2 7-6(11)
Have you picked your team of tennis aces?
You have until the start of play at the Australian Open to select a team of 16 men and 16 women in our online fantasy game SuperTennis.
Points will be awarded for the performance of your team members and you can switch the mix around right up until 19 January.
The SuperTennis selector with the most points wins a cash prize of AUD$5000.
Go to www.supertennis.com.au to register your team today.