Ferrer and Nishikori Reach Final Four in Barcelona

April 24, 2015 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

Defending champion and top-seed Kei Nishikori moved into the Barcelona Open semifinals on Friday, beating seventh-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.

After dropping the second set, Nishikori broke twice in the final set and won 16 of his 18 service points to clinch the victory and move on.

“It was [a] difficult match,” said Nishikori. “He started really well in the second set, and I was less focused, but I’m happy to win in three sets and fight really strong at the end.”

Nishikori dominated the points on the Spaniard’s serve, displaying his outstanding baseline game by winning 48 percent of return points.

The Japan native will meet the 14th-seeded Slovak Martin Klizan in the semifinals. Klizan got past ninth-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo 7-6(5), 6-4 to push through.

After taking the first set in a tiebreaker, Klizan notched the lone break of the second set to move past Robredo in straight sets.

In the other semifinal, third-seeded David Ferrer will take on fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar.

Ferrer won a hard-fought contest with Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-6(5).

Andujar notched a big upset win over 13th-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini, a day after Fognini ousted eight-time champion Rafael Nadal. Andujar broke five times in seven chances to cruise past Fognini in straight sets. 


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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