History. Again. Kei Nishikori revels in rewriting history. At the US Open last September, he became the first man from Asia ever to compete in a Grand Slam Final. On Sunday in Memphis, he became the first player in the tournament’s 40-year history to win the Memphis Open three consecutive years.
Saving his best performance for the Final, Kei won in convincing fashion over Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4…forgoing the constant restringing of raquets and first-set falters that had become all too common during the week. During the trophy ceremony, while they unveiled his name for the third time on the Wall of Champions, Kei joked that with all the success here, he’s considering moving to Memphis.
Sunday marked Kei’s 8th career title. Remarkably, since winning Memphis last year, he’s won four additional titles in six finals. It would appear the World #5 has his sights set on breaking into the Top-4 by year’s end. Click the image below to see the Championship Trophy Ceremony…
[lightbox link=”https://videos.files.wordpress.com/6J1fCKXh/announcer-andy-taylor.-tennis-interviews.-memphis-2015-trophy-presentation_hd.mp4″ thumb=”https://andytayloronline.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/MemphisOpen15-TokyoTV-NishikoriWins-Sq.jpg” width=”640″ align=”none” title=”VIDEO: Kei Nishikori rewrites history in Memphis. (As seen on Tokyo television)” frame=”true” icon=”video” caption=”VIDEO: Kei Nishikori rewrites history in Memphis. (As seen on Tokyo television)”]
[raw]
[column size=”1/2″]
Kei Nishikori’s road to the Title:
1R: (Bye)
2R: def. Ryan Harrison 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
QF: def. Austin Krajicek 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
SF: def. Sam Querrey 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(5)
F: def. Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4
[/column]
[column size=”1/2″ last]
Kevin Anderson’s road to the Final:
1R: (Bye)
2R: def. Sam Groth 6-4, 6-3
QF: def. Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-4
SF: def. Donald Young 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
[/column]
[/raw]
Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Santiago Gonzalez are best known for their doubles success with other partners. Mariusz has earned 15 career titles with countryman Marcin Matkowski, while Gonzalez has captured 7 titles with American Scott Lipsky. The new partnership was 0-3 coming into the Memphis Open, with First round losses in Brisbane, Auckland and Melbourne. It took match tie-breaks in both the Semifinal and the Final, but with the Memphis win, the two are now convinced this is a partnership with serious potential.
On Sunday, Mariusz and Santiago denied Donald Young his first career doubles title, and Artem Sitak his second consecutive title since the Australian Open…winning the Final 10-8 in the match tie-break. In his 40th career Final, Fyrstenberg raised his 17th ATP World Tour trophy, while Gonzalez earned his 10th career title in his 13th Final.
[raw]
[column size=”1/2″]
Fyrstenberg and Giraldo’s road to the Title:
1R: def. Kukushkin and Lu 6-3, 6-1
QF: def. Becker and Meffert 7-5, 7-5
SF: def. Mirnyi and Dodig 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-5
F: def. Sitak and Young 5-7, 7-6(1), 10-8
[/column]
[column size=”1/2″ last]
Artem Sitak and Donald Young’s road to the Final:
1R: def. Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey 6-1, 6-4
QF: def. Eric Butorac and Rajeev Ram 6-3, 7-5
SF: def. Treat Huey and Scott Lipsky 7-6(0), 6-4
[/column]
[/raw]
[divider style=”shadow”]
DAY-7 RESULTS: Stadium Court
[4] Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Santiago Giraldo def. Artem Sitak and Donald Young 5-7, 7-6(1), 10-8
[1] Kei Nishikori def. [2] Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4
[divider style=”shadow”]
ALL POSTS FROM THE 2015 MEMPHIS OPEN:
[mini_post_grid tag=”MemphisOpen15″ numberposts=”9″ orderby=”date” order=”DESC” offset=”0″ align=”left”]
