Japan's Kei Nishikori has survived his second five-set match at this year's French Open, outlasting Russian 23rd seed Karen Khachanov in a thrilling four-hour battle to win 4-6 6-2 2-6 6-4 6-4 and reach the third round.
The 31-year-old - three times a quarter-finalist at Roland Garros - scripted a comeback win against Italian Alessandro Giannessi on Sunday and repeated the feat against Khachanov, improving to 26-7 in matches that go to five sets.
"I just tried to stay calm," Nishikori says. "Losing the third set was hard, but playing aggressive tennis was the key to win.
"Trust me, I hate playing five sets. I'm not doing this on purpose."
Nishikori wasted three breakpoint opportunities to take the lead in the deciding set and finally managed to break Khachanov's serve to love in the last game, converting his first matchpoint with his 57th winner.
Next up for the Japanese will be Swiss world No. 150 Henri Laaksonen, who ousted Spaniard 11th seed Roberto Bautista Agut with a 6-3 2-6 6-3 6-2 victory.
Meanwhile, Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas has strolled past Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-3 6-4 6-3 in a scrappy contest.
Tsitsipas, who reached the 2020 semi-finals, is considered one of the main contenders to challenge Rafa Nadal for the title at Roland Garros, after the 22-year-old's triumph at the Monte-Carlo Masters and in Lyon in the lead-up to the claycourt Grand Slam.
"I've had good weeks this year, I've had some good results, but of course, I feel like there's always better," says Tsitsipas, who improves his tour-leading wins tally in the season to 34.
"I don't see my performance so far as super excellent and outstanding, but I've been consistent."
The 103rd-ranked Martinez gave a good account of himself during parts of the match, but did not have enough in his locker to put significant pressure on Tsitsipas in their first meeting.
The 24-year-old had his chances on Tsitsipas's serve, but could convert only four of his 15 breakpoint opportunities.
The Greek broke his opponent's serve eight times and hit his 45th winner on matchpoint to set up a third-round meeting with American John Isner, who defeated Serbian Filip Krajinovic 7-6(6) 6-1 7-6(5).
"I felt like I had better days at the French Open, so I would love to see myself play a little bit better next time," Tsitsipas says.
Reuters
