CCTV news: On September 3, Beijing time, the second round of the 2021 US Open Men's Singles Tournament continued. On Course 17, former US Open runner-up and Japan's Kei Nishikori spent 3 hours and 57 minutes fighting in five sets, defeating American Macdonald 7-6 (7-3)/6-3/6-7 (5-7)/2-6/6-3 to advance to the third round of the MEN's Singles Tournament for the eighth time in his career. The nickname "King of the Five Plates" has also been further confirmed. His opponent in the third round will be top seed Djokovic.
Kei Nishikori, 31, is currently ranked 56th in the world for ATP men's singles, having finished second in men's singles at the U.S. Open in 2014 and reaching the final four men's singles at the U.S. Open twice in 2016 and 2018. Last year, he withdrew from the U.S. Open because he tested positive for the new crown virus. After the Tokyo Olympics, he withdrew from the Cincinnati Masters with a shoulder injury. In the last round, in the first game of his comeback, he defeated Italy's Caruso 3-1.
Macdonald, 26, is currently ranked 61st in the world for MEN's singles at ATP. This is his fourth time in the MEN's Singles Tournament at the US Open, and the first three times he has stopped in the first round. In the last round, he swept the 27th seed, Belgian Goffin, 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 to advance to the second round of the MEN's Singles Tournament of the US Open for the first time.
Kei Nishikori and Macdonald have played each other twice before, and the two sides have each won 1 and lost 1, and they are equally divided. In this match, in the first set, Kei Nishikori missed two break points in the first set and failed to break. After the two sides saved their own serves, in the 4th set, Macdonald missed 3 break points and saved 1 set point, taking the lead in breaking. But Kei Nishikuri grabbed the second of two break points in the 5th set, and the speed broke back. In the 6th set, Macdonald broke again. After saving four straight goals, he took a 5-2 lead. However, after Kei Nishikori saved in the 8th set, he broke back again in the 9th set, and after saving three consecutive sets of serves in the 10th set, he chased the set to 5-5. After each saved their serves, they grabbed seven, and Kei Nishikori won 7-3 and won the first set 7-6. The whole plate took 59 minutes.
In the second set, Kei Nishikori broke consecutive breaks in the 1st and 3rd sets to take a 3-0 lead. Since then, the two sides have saved their own serves in the next three sets, of which Kei Nishikori saved three break points in the fifth set, and McDonald missed two set points and saved one break point in the sixth set. In the 7th inning, Macdonald scored a comeback. But Kei Nishikori broke again in the 8th set, and after winning the set, he won another set 6-3. The whole dish takes 40 minutes.
In the third set, the two sides saved their own serves in the first two sets, including Macdonald saving 4 break points in the 1st set and Kei Nishikori missing 2 innings and saving 1 break point in the 2nd set. In the 3rd set, Kei Nishikori seized the second break point and took the lead, but in the 4th set McDonald saved 1 set point and completed the breakback. In the 5th set, Kei Nishikori broke again. Since then, the two sides have been insured for each of the four innings. In the 10th set, Macdonald scored four straight goals to break back. After the two sides each saved their own hair, they entered the grab seven again. This time, McDonald won 7-5 and pulled back a set 7-6. The entire session took 55 minutes.
In the fourth set, McDonald broke first in the first set. Since then, the two sides have been insured for 5 consecutive games. In the 7th set, Macdonald saved four innings and broke again, and after successfully saving the serve, he pulled another set 6-2. The whole plate took 37 minutes.
In the decider, McDonald missed two break points in the first set and then took the lead again. However, Kei Nishikori completed the breakback in the 2nd set, saving 2 break points to save the serve, and in the 4th set, he grabbed the 2nd break point, broke again, and after successfully saving the serve, he took a 4-1 lead. After that, the two sides saved their own serves, and Kei Nishikuri won the match with three winning points and the opponent's forehand unforced error, and won the decider 6-3, and the big score was 3-2 to advance to the third round.
![The Sunshine Boy, often called Kei Nishikori, is little known for always living under the aura of others[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)