Nishikori off to good start in Brisbane
Kei Nishikori trains at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy
Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy alum Kei Nishikori won his first round match today at the Brisbane International in Australia. Nishikori defeated American qualifier Bobby Reynolds 6-3, 6-2 and will face fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych in the second round. This will be the first career meeting between Nishikori and Berdych and should be a good one. Kei is preparing for his first career Australian Open, after a great 2008 season.
Also playing in Brisbane was Taylor Dent. The American won his first round match over Steve Darcis but fell earlier today to Richard Gasquet in the second round. Dent was up 5-3 in the first set but couldn’t close it out, eventually losing it 7-5. He then lost the second 6-4 to the talented Frenchman. Dent is on the comeback trail after sitting out for over a year with a back injury.
The biggest upset of the day definitely belonged to Ernests Gulbis who defeated top-seeded Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the first round. Djokovic is the defending Australian Open champion, so this is definitely not a good sign as he heads into the tournament in a couple of weeks.
