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Jordan Thompson vs Kei Nishikori |
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|---|---|---|
2017 Brisbane International, quarter-finals, 6 January 2017 |
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| Pat Rafter Arena, Queensland Tennis Centre | ||
| Jordan Thompson | Kei Nishikori | |
| 0 | SCORE | 2 |
| 1 | Set 1 | 6 |
| 1 | Set 2 | 6 |
Young Australian Jordan Thompson will be out to cause his second successive upset when he takes on Japanese world no.5 Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from around 1:30pm (AEDT).
Thompson enjoyed plenty of success at the back end of last season, moving up the rankings by winning a few challenger events and his good form has carried over to the Brisbane International.
After a more or less expected victory in the first round over Sweeden’s Elias Ymer, he was tasked with the seeded David Ferrer who was coming off a straight-sets drubbing of Bernard Tomic.
Coming into the match, it looked like Thompson would be lucky to win a set – instead, he came back from a set down to win in three, with the last two going to 7-5.
It was his ability to remain cool and calm under pressure that impressed the most as he closed out the second and third set, and remaining composed will go a long way to keeping him in the match against the superior Nishikori.
Nishikori, who is the third seed for the Brisbane International, had a solid, but not spectacular finish to the 2016 season and will be looking to build this year towards his first grand slam victory.
After making the semi-finals of the US Open and getting beaten comprehensively by Stan Wawrinka, Nishikori went onto the ATP Tour finals, only to lose three of four matches and not look in the same league as his similarly ranked opponents.
It showed there is still plenty of work to do for Nishikori and that he needs to find a new level in his offensive game, something that has been lacking a little throughout his career despite what is normally a low error count.
The Japanese native had to survive a scare in his second round match at Brisbane as well after being handed a bye in the first round.
Taking on qualifier Jared Donaldson, he dropped the first set 6-4, before going behind in the second but coming back to win 6-4, 6-3.
He will be looking for a much-improved performance here, but there are plenty of questions surrounding his game and he will be wary of a fired-up Thompson playing in his home country.
Prediction
No matter how good Thompson looked against Ferrer, Nishikori is another step up and probably one too far for the young Aussie. He will put up a fight and might even pinch a set, but a trip into the semi-finals looks unlikely.
Nishikori in three sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores and coverage of this Brisbane International quarter-final from around 1:30pm (AEDT) or following the completion of Kyle Edmund vs Stan Wawrinka on Pat Rafter Arena and don’t forget to drop a comment below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde