Nishikori rallies to advance to Brisbane q’finals

January 5, 2017

BRISBANE- Japanese ace Kei Nishikori rallied to beat American Jared Donaldson in his opening match in the men's singles second round Wednesday at the Brisbane International. World No. 5 Nishikori lost the first set to his 105th-ranked opponent but stormed back to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and advance to the quarterfinals. Nishikori is also in action in the men's doubles quarterfinals Wednesday as he and partner Dominic Thiem of Austria take on Luxembourg's Gilles Muller and American Sam Querrey. In the women's draw, Japan's Misaki Doi crashed out in the second round with a 6-4, 6-2 loss to eighth-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci. On Tuesday, Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka crashed out in the first round of the Brisbane International, falling to world No. 29 Victor Troicki. Nishioka eventually fell 6-4, 7-5 in a match that was suspended due to rain after Troicki won the first set on Monday. "I wanted to win," said Nishioka, who felt rib pain during the second set. "I didn't play terribly. I came up short in some small areas." Nishioka, who reached the main draw through qualifying, is lacking match fitness after devoting his offseason to rehabbing his elbow. "Given I wasn't well prepared, I did pretty well," he said. (Kyodo News)