Nishikori knocks out Federer in Madrid

Japanese world number 16 Kei Nishikori knocked second seeded Roger Federer out of the Madrid Open last sixteen yesterday afternoon.

The 23 year old Japanese player took control of the first set in the fifth game. Holding break point, he took control of the point from the middle of the court, hitting a forehand down the line to the Federer backhand to get an error.

Hitting high to the backhand was the right technique as time and again Federer errored. Nishikori hit his forehand on the rise and high and with aggression to the Swiss’ more vulnerable side to take the first set 6-4.

Federer, the defending champion and world number two, came back strong though, breaking Nishikori at 2-1 in the second set and then hitting a purple patch to take the second set 6-1.

In the third set, Nishikori earned two break points at 2-1 when Federer errored once more on the backhand. The Japanese took the second with a forehand winner down the line.

Nishikori kept hitting to the backhand, moving Federer around and taking control of the middle of the court to lead 5-2. A forehand error from Federer on match point, the Swiss’ 31st error of the match, and it was Game, set and match Nishikori.

It was the Japanese player’s second biggest win after beating Djokovic in 2011 6-0 in the third in Basel. For Federer, it was another early defeat in a big tournament after losing to Benneteau in Rotterdam and Nadal in Indian Wells. This was only the Swiss’ fifth tournament this season, a purposely reduced one after an exhausting 2012. Playing an opponent with the talent and clean hitting ability of Nishikori was always going to be a hard task for Federer who has lost early in tournaments even in his prime. The Swiss though is a touch past his prime now and against young able talents his lack of match play and his weaknesses are going to be exploited. Still, playing Roger is always tough regardless of his condition and full credit must go to the young player for executing his game plan and, most importantly in this encounter, for taking his chances. For while both men hit around 30 unforcerd errors, and even though Federer hit 30 winners to Nishikori’s 17, it was when those winners and errors were hit that mattered in this topsy-turvy encounter. Most tellingly, Kei took 3 of his 4 break points while Federer only managed 2 of 7. 2 of Kei’s break points were taken in the final set, one of them on match point, and his ability to play the big points well bodes well for the up and coming player. As for Federer, what his reduced schedule and a host of young players eager for his scalp means for his future remains to be seen.