Nishikori, Raonic, 3 Top 10 Exit at Canadian Open in Montreal; Federer, Nadal In Action Thurs
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Wednesday was upset day at the Canadian Open as three Top 10 seeds and five total went down in Montreal.
ADHEREL
Upset-makers were France’s Gael “Force” Monfils topping No. 5 Kei Nishikori 6-7(4), 7-5, 7-6(6); France’s Adrian Mannarino ousting No. 6 Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4; and South Korea’s Chung Hyeon downing No. 9 David Goffin 7-5, 6-3.
“It’s a good victory for many reasons,” said Monfils, who saw Nishikori serve for the match in the second set. “It’s a big revenge, because last year around this time I had the same thing actually against Kei.”
Nishikori led 5-2 in the second, 5-3 in the third and in the break held 4 match points at 6-2 before the Frenchman reeled off the last six points of the match.
“I needed courage and a lot of luck,” Monfils added. “Matches like this depend on luck also. As I said, in the second set, he started off better than I did. It took time for me to get into it after the first set. I was able to play at a higher level at 5-2. The same thing happened in the third set. Now, for the last points, I needed to be brave and also have some luck – a lot of luck.”
Ousting lower seeds were South African Kevin Anderson beating No. 11 Pablo Carreno 6-3, 7-6(6), and former Top 10er David Ferrer outlasting No. 15 Jack Sock 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-1.
Righting the ship were Top 10-seeded winners No. 1 Rafael Nadal rolling Borna Coric 6-1, 6-2; No. 2 Roger Federer cruising past Canuck Peter Polansky 6-2, 6-1; No. 4 Alexander Zverev struggling past injured Richard Gasquet 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3); and No. 7 Grigor Dimitrov topping Mischa Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Nadal had lost to Coric in their most previous meeting.
“At the beginning of the match there were great points,” Nadal said. “I think I started playing so well in the first set and in general, I played a great match. Last time that I played against him I lost, last year in Cincinnati. It was not an easy round for me.”
Federer had no issues against the Canadian Polansky.
“Overall, I’m very satisfied with the match,” the Swiss said. “The conditions were tough here in Montreal. There was a lot of wind today and it was fast. Sometimes it’s difficult to find the rhythm. But I was happy that I was very focused on my service games. I was aggressive. This is how I want to play for the whole week. Anyway, it’s a good start.”
Lower-seeded winners on the day were No. 12 Roberto Bautista defeating Ryan Harrison 7-5, 6-2, and No. 16 Nick Kyrgios rolling over Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi 6-2, 6-3.
Canadian youngster Denis Shapovalov continued his coming-out party on Wednesday, winning his second match with a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over former Grand Slam winner Juan Martin del Potro.
Matches to look for on Thursday in Montreal are (12) Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Gael Monfils, (2) Roger Federer vs. David Ferrer, (4) Alexander Zverev vs. (16) Nick Kyrgios, and (1) Rafael Nadal vs. (WC) Denis Sharpalov.
THURSDAY MONTREAL SCHEDULE
COURT CENTRAL start 12:30 pm
G. Monfils (FRA) vs [12] R. Bautista Agut (ESP)
Not Before 2:30 pm
D. Ferrer (ESP) vs [2] R. Federer (SUI)
Not Before 6:30 pm
[4] A. Zverev (GER) vs [16] N. Kyrgios (AUS)
[1] R. Nadal (ESP) vs [WC] D. Shapovalov (CAN)
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