Pablo Carreno Busta earned a hard fought 6-3 2-6 6-3 win over Richard Gasquet to advance to the second round in Cincinnati as Kei Nishikori also advanced.
The 13th seeded Spaniard tussled his way to the first set as there was some entertaining rallies on show between the two players. The Frenchman was not capable of producing big serves in the key moments as he was broken four times during the first set. The backhand of Carreno Busta was one of the keys for the Spaniard as he secured the opening set on his first set point in 48 minutes.
The second set was completely different from the recently turned blonde headed Gasquet as he was more efficient off his serve this time. He started to play to his strengths as he dictated the Spaniard around the court using some impressive backhands. The world number 26 broke twice in consecutive games as he forced a deciding set against his higher ranked opponent.
The third set was much steadier from both men as they started to play their very best tennis in what turned into a highly competitive match. Both men were struggling with form recently as injuries were starting to take its toll especially on Gasquet. The lack of match practice from Gasquet started to show as on the eighth game, the Spaniard took his first break point to seal a crucial lead. The world number 13 then served out the match to love to seal a very good win in what has been a tough season.
Also an important win in terms of psychological boost as the two men could face again in a few weeks time in the Davis Cup semi-finals. The 13th seed will now play Maximillian Marterer or Bradley Klahn.
Nishikori Battles Past Rublev
In other results, Kei Nishikori battled past a tough Andrey Rublev, 7-5 6-3 to advance to the second round of the Western and Southern Open. The 28 year old Japanese star broke four times in a very shaky match as he progressed to round two in Cincinnati. He will now play either 12th seed Diego Schhwartzman or Stan Wawrinka in the next round.
Meanwhile Roger Federer will now play Peter Gojowczyk in his first match since losing his Wimbledon quarter-final to Kevin Anderson. The German edged past Joao Sousa 2-6 6-4 7-5 in 1 hour and 50 minutes to make the second round as Sousa’s poor form continues.
