MONTREAL: Japan’s Kei Nishikori staged a 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 fightback over Alex Michelsen on Tuesday to earn his first victory at an ATP Masters match in three years.

The 2014 US Open runner-up, who has been plagued in recent seasons by injury, turned the tide at the Montreal Masters as he put out the 55th-ranked American teenager who played last month’s Newport grass final.

The tournament lost another big name on Tues­day when Canadian Milos Raonic withdrew an hour before his opening match with a shoulder injury.

The US Open tune-up event is already missing Olympic champion Novak Djokovic and silver medalist Carlos Alcaraz, who both withdrew.

Nishikori earned a second-round match with eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsi­pas.

Nishikori let go of a 3-1, 40-15 lead in the first set, losing it before starting to turn the tide.

He ended after two and a half hours with four breaks of serve and 30 winners to the 14 of his 19-year-old opponent.

Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego put out Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (9-7), 5-7, 6-4. Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry won a South American struggle over Chile’s Nicolas Jarry 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (5-7), 6-2. Karen Khachanov beat Canada’s Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 6-4.

Meanwhile, Canada’s Bianca Andreescu was ousted by Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko on Tuesday in the first round of the Toronto Masters.

Tsurenko rallied to defeat Andreescu 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 in just under two hours to book a second-round match against 10th seed Anna Kalinskaya.

Chinese qualifier Wang Yafan defeated American Sofia Kenin 7-5, 7-6 (7-3).

Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina ousted American Shelby Rogers 6-0, 6-2 in 70 minutes.

Marta Kostyuk eliminated Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-0, 6-2. Former world number one Victoria Azarenka defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 6-2. Poland’s Magdalena Frech beat Anastasia Potapova 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2024