World No. 9 Kei Nishikori hasn’t been able to deliver consistent results in the ATP Tour since his banner 2015 season, but at least he’s off to a superb start at Wimbledon.
Nishikori needed just a little over an hour to eliminate Italy’s Marco Cecchinato from the tournament in straight sets; 6-2, 6-2, 6-0. The Michael Chang prodigy displayed a great mix of power and poise in the first-round bout against Cecchinato, converting seven of his nine break-point opportunites as well as easily winning the battle of the aces, 8-2.
While the Japanese standout’s 29-20 lifetime record on grass is not an exceptional mark, he’s actually done quite well at the All England Club. In four his last five trips to Wimbledon, Nishikori made it all the way to the fourth round and also secured semi-final berths in 2015 and the previous season.
Having said that, look for Nishikori to cruise past his next seemingly outmatched opponent, Sergiy Stakovsky.
Perseverance is certainly paying off for Sergiy Stakhovsky, who entered the All England Club as the 122nd-ranked male tennis player in the world.
Stakhovsky pulled off a relative upset in his first-round match against World No. 81 Julien Benneteau, needing four grueling sets (6-3, 7-6(8), 2-6, 6-2) to secure his fourth-ever second-round appearance as a singles competitor in Wimbledon.
However, the 31-year-old Ukranian has got to be concerned about the amount of time he’s putting in to win his matches of late. Before his duel against Benneteau, Stakhovsky needed all five sets before winning and securing his spot in Wimbledon’s main tourney during his final qualifying match against fellow wild card hopeful Tatsuma Ito.
Stakhovsky’s in line to face another Japanese player, but Nishikori will prove to be a spike in difficulty he’d rather not deal with. The Kiev native has a dismal 3-33 record against top 10 opponents, and the only reason why he hasn’t been tested by top-10 competition this is year is because he’s mostly participated in mere ATP Challenger Tour events.
One could even argue that Stakhovsky has gone a perfect 2-0 against Nishikori. However, those two victories were won in 2011 when Nishikori had yet to become a household name on the Tour, and neither of those matches were held on grass either.
Writer’s Prediction
Nishikori (-600) makes quick work of Stakhovsky in straight sets.
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