Kei Nishikori has defeated Milos Raonic of Canada in the final match of the Rakuten Japan Open at Tokyo. Nishikori won the match by 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-0.
A large number of people were out there in the stadium to support Nishikori and they would have been delighted with the performance of the local boy. Nishikori struggled a bit at the start of the match, but, he just nailed it towards the end. In the third and final set, he played some extremely powerful ground strokes didn’t let Raonic win even a single game.
Raonic had come into the final after defeating the British superstar Andy Murray. He played decently in the first two sets, but, in the third set, he was just thrashed by Nishikori.
After winning the tournament, Nishikori told the reporters, “It’s a special occasion for me. To win a title in front of the home crowd is something I have always dreamt for. I had played in a few competitions in Japan before, but, I always struggled on my home soil. But, this time, I was determined to do well.”
“I want to thank all the supporters who came to watch me play today. It’s because of their blessings and support that I have won today.”
“I could have performed a bit better in the first two sets. But, I am very happy with the way I played in the third set. After losing the second set, I decided to play aggressive tennis in the final set and that paid off.”
On the other hand, Raonic was looking disgusted. The Canadian said, “I was pretty excited before the start of the match, but, I am equally disappointed now. I congratulate Nishikori for winning the title. He played brilliantly today and he was a deserving winner.”