JUST two days after grabbing his biggest win in a couple of years, Kei Nishikori has gone even better in the second round of the National Bank Open in Montreal, taking out world number 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets.

The current 576th ranked player in the world secured his first Top 20 win in three years, and in doing so, became the third lowest ranked player to reach the Round of 16 at an ATP Masters 1000 since they began in 1990.

Nishikori said it was a tough game, but his work both on return (60 per cent of Tsitsipas’ second serve points) and at the net (11 of 12 points) allowed him to create break point opportunities. The former Top 5 player and Grand Slam finalist broke three times to won, which enabled him to be that game clear in each set.

“It means a lot,” Nishikori said post-match “I am playing well and feels I am back on track again, so I am really happy with the way I played today.

“Beating Stef is not easy and for me it is a great win. “I stayed aggressive and was not missing too many balls today. It was much better than the first round.”

Nishikori won 79 and 50 per cent of his first and second serves, and managed to survive nine aces and a 74 per cent success rate off Tsitsipas’ first serve to collect the win in an hour and 18 minutes. The Japanese hope made the 2016 National Bank Open final and by winning back-to-back matches in Montreal is already up to 317th in the world.

A win over his next opponent – Portugal’s Nuno Borges would result in Nishikori shooting up to 221st in the world. If he somehow pulled off winning the title, the former world number four would be back inside the Top 50 once again, making a ridiculous 500-plus ranking rise in one tournament.

Borges reached the Round of 16 via a hard-fought come-from-behind victory over French 12th seed Ugo Humbert, 3-6 7-6 7-6.

AROUND THE COURTS

Nishikori’s win was far from the only upset, with Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina producing a stunning performance – albeit with a forgettable second set – to oust Russian and 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev in three sets. Davidovich Fokina won 6-4 1-6 6-2 against the world number five in an hour and 56 minutes, the first time had had beaten Medvedev in five attempts.

“It has not been an easy year for me. A lot of changes in my life,” Davidovich Fokina said. “To have this opportunity to beat a player like Daniil gives me a lot of strength and power to continue to grow. I am very happy with this win. At the end of the set it is not easy to close a match and less with Daniil because he is a very solid player. I had to be calm today and not think about the result.”

In other surprising results, American qualifier Brandon Nakashima ground out a win over compatriot Tommy Paul 6-2 6-7 6-1, while another top United States representative in Ben Shelton bowed out in straight sets to Aussie Alexei Popyrin.

The other top seeds largely advanced unscathed with world number one Jannik Sinner, as well as Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev all advanced in straight sets. Norwegian Casper Ruud needed three sets and more than two hours before eventually shrugging off Australian lucky loser James Duckworth, while Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov was in a rush against another Aussie in Rinky Hijikata, only dropping one game in a 55-minute demolition.

Other winners on day three were Denmark’s Holger Rune, Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo and Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi who all reached the third round at the ATP Masters 1000 event.