A year after leaving Washington with a toe injury that would sideline him for the next three weeks, a healthy Kei Nishikori returned to the Citi Open last week eyeing a strong start to the hard-court season.
On Sunday, Nishikori delivered, rallying to beat hard-serving John Isner, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the final of the Citi Open before a capacity crowd at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center.
“I played good tennis from the baseline today,” said Nishikori, the No. 2 seed, who fell in straight sets to Isner in Miami in April in their only prior meeting.
“The last match against John, he was more aggressive, even with the baseline points, so I tried to be more aggressive than before. All this week, I was hitting good shots.”
Isner fired 18 aces in Sunday’s final, but Nishikori made the most of his service games as well. The world No. 5 won 91 percent of his first-serve points and faced just two break points against, with none in the final two sets. He committed just 13 unforced errors, compared to 28 by Isner, and fired 11 of his 18 winners from his backhand.
“He put a decent amount of first serves in the court,” Isner said, “and from there, he’s arguably the best in the world from the baseline, so it’s tough. … His backhand is world class, his backhand crosscourt is incredible, he dictates play very well and he’s quick.”
Isner, seeded eighth, took the opening set in 36 minutes, earning the only break of the set in the tenth and final game.
Nishikori broke back, though, in the first game of the second set, winning a challenge on an apparent Isner ace. Nishikori then won the ensuing point off Isner’s second serve for his first break of the match and a 1-0 lead in the second set.
“I had so much momentum after playing a great game at 5-4 in the first [set],” Isner said, “so if I hold that first game [in the second set] the pressure is still on him and I’m sort of free rolling out there. But he got up a break, it gave him some momentum and it gave him more confidence … so I think that was a pretty big turning point.”
From there, Nishikori held serve the rest of the match, earning his 10th career ATP title and his third of 2015. The 2014 U.S. Open finalist also improved to 43-9 on the year and now trails only Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray for most ATP match wins in 2015 with 48.
“I’m sure that this match will help a lot,” said Nishikori, who will now compete in Masters-1000 tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati.
“It is very important to play good tennis this summer after not playing the two Masters series events last year [while injured]. I did great last year at the U.S. Open so I’ll try to do well at these two Masters too. I can’t wait to go to the U.S. Open. I’m excited to play again on the big stage.”
Nishikori will rise to No. 4 in the world when the latest ATP rankings are released on Monday, matching his career high. It is also the highest ranking ever achieved by a Japanese player.
Like Nishikori, Isner will also move up in rankings, jumping from No. 18 to No. 12.
Isner, 30, has won more matches at the Citi Open than at any other tournament in his career, but the top-ranked American dropped to 23-8 lifetime in Washington — including 0-3 in finals.
“Getting to the finals of an event like this is something to be proud of,” said Isner, who won his third consecutive BB&T Open in Atlanta last week and was playing his ninth match in 11 days.
“Of course it’s disappointing to have not broken through once [in Washington] … Getting to the finals is a good achievement, but losing stinks. But I’ve had a very good two weeks and now I can’t get complacent.”
There has not been an American singles champion in Washington since Andy Roddick beat Isner in 2007, marking the longest drought in the tournament’s 47-year history.
In Sunday’s men’s doubles final, Bob and Mike Bryan beat Ivan Dodig and Mercelo Melo, 6-4, 6-2. It was the Bryan brothers’ 108th career doubles title and their fourth championship in Washington.
The WTA singles final saw Sloane Stephens beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, 6-1, 6-2. Stephens, 22, was competing in her first career WTA final.
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