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Fifth seeded Kei Nishikori comes up against Ivan Dodig in his second round match at the 2015 Australian Open today. Join The Roar for live scores from 11am AEDT.
Nishikori continued his hot form in the first round of the Open to defeat a tricky first-round opponent in former world number nine Nicolas Almagro.
Nishikori showed his typical strong work from the ground to grind down Almagro. It was an impressive first-up effort in what many good judges are seeing as one of the world’s form players’ best chance to win a Grand Slam to date.
With Rafael Nadal struggling on the other side of the draw, if Nishikori can negotiate his way past the likes of Novak Djokovic and Stanislas Wawrinka, it is looking like he could do some damage.
Nishikori was understated after his win on Tuesday.
“Obviously was really tough, tough first match. He could be seeded player, and I know he was injured, but still was tough match. Yeah, was a little bit windy, so we both didn’t play maybe 100%. But I was getting more balls, especially third set, and I was play much better third set.”
His opponent today is 30-year-old Croatian Ivan Dodig, who cruised past Joao Sousa in the first round to book this meeting with Nishikori.
Known for his powerful forehand and weapon serve, Dodig has more than enough in his arsenal to hurt Nishikori, who will have to be definite in his defence if he is to make it to the third round.
Nishikori possesses the advantage in his all-court game and movement, and will look to shift Dodig laterally and make him make shots from wide out.
He should have the power and patience to outlast the big Croatian, and it would be the surprise of the tournament so far to see Nishikori go out today.
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