Kei Nishikori, glad to be back on the New York hard courts where he became Asia's first men's Grand Slam finalist, reached the second round of the US Open Tuesday. The Japanese sixth seed, who fell to Marin Cilic in the 2014 final, quashed German Benjamin Becker's rally attempt, emerging with a 6-1, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory on the new Grandstand court in two hours 10 minutes.
"It was a great feeling of course," Nishikori said of the lively reception he received from fans. "I have great memories here and I always love coming back to New York." Nishikori appeared to be on his way to a quick victory when he put away the first two sets in 49 minutes.
But things then got complicated against the 96th-ranked Becker. "When he's on he can really be aggressive from the serve, and second ball here he was attacking really well. He is always a dangerous player." Nishikori, however, finally gained the break he needed for a 5-3 lead in the fourth and served it out with a love game punctuated by his seventh ace.
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