Tennis: Nishikori braces for tough start

KUALA LUMPUR: Asia’s top player Kei Nishikori of Japan will face a tough fight in the ATP Tour’s Malaysian Open which begins today. Nishikori, the third seed for the event at the Putra Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, is headed in a draw by the in-form world number five and top-seed David Ferrer of Spain and world number 11 Juan Monaco from Argentina, the second seed. Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov, ranked 19 in the world, completes the top four seeds. “I was a losing semi-finalist last year, and even then, it was difficult just to reach the top four,” said Nishikori. “That shows how difficult this tournament is. I hope to do better this year, but there are three tough players to contend with.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2012.