An injured and ailing Kei Nishikori caused an upset at the Stockholm ATP Open as the 18-year-old rallied past eighth-seeded Marcel Granollers 2-6, 6-4,6-2 in the opening round on Monday.
Entering the tournament as wild card, the Japanese teen had to ask for treatment in the second set, dealing with his hurting right knee.
"I've felt the pain for almost two days, I took a painkiller but it didn't help. I also have a cold, I'm not in my best condition," Nishikori said. "I was thinking about retiring for more than 10 times, but luckily I kept on playing."
In the second set, Nishikori broke the Spaniard on his second break point to lead 5-4 and held to love to force a decisive set. There, Nishikori twice broke for 3-0 and clinched the match when Granhollers hit two consecutive forehands long.
Ranked at a career best 77th, the Tokyo resident will next meet Dominik Hrbaty in the second round, who thrashed Pablo Andujar of Spain 6-2, 6-1.
Elsewhere, Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti, a former top 10 player, returned nine years after his Stockholm quarter-final, spending nearly three hours in overcoming Ivan Navarro of Spain 3-6, 7-6(7),7-5.
Source: Xinhua
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