Local hero Kei Nishikori has entered the preliminary round of the ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Tokyo. Jan-Lennard Struff is already one step ahead: The German Davis Cup player reached the doubles final with his partner Ben McLachlan.
Kei Nishikori’s ambitions to qualify for the ATP Finals in London with a late run have been given a new boost in Tokyo: The Japanese defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece 6-3 and 6-3 in the quarter-finals and will face either Kevin Anderson or Richard Gasquet in the semi-finals.
Nishikori spent 82 minutes at the ATP World Tour 500 tournament in the Japanese capital, where he has won two tournaments in 2012 and 2014. In the Race to London Nishikori is currently in tenth position, with Kevin Anderson, the current eighth, missing almost 900 points.
In the second semi-final Denis Shapovalov and Daniil Medvedev meet two youngsters. While the Russian surprisingly defeated Milos Raonic in two sets, Shapovalov managed a comeback victory against Jan-Lennard Struff.
After all, the German had a sense of achievement in the afternoon: Together with Ben Mclachlan he gave the Dutch pairing Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop no chance and entered the double final. There it goes for Struff and McLachlan either against Klaasen/Venus or Salisbury/Uchiyama.
Here is the single tableau in Tokyo