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 It was the ninth career title for the top-seeded Japanese, who again
showed his improved endurance as he battled to come out on top
against the world number 66.
"I didn't think about winning the tournament at the start of the
week because of the strength of the players here, especially the
Spanish, but now I am very happy," Nishikori told reporters.
"I knew that Andujar has a good backhand and my plan was to move the
ball around a bit. It worked well in the last few games and then
with the final shot I closed my eyes and it went in."
Andujar broke serve in the opening game with Nishikori making
uncharacteristic mistakes and the score was 2-2 before either player
held serve.
Nishikori found himself being dragged out of position by Andujar,
who had beaten third seed David Ferrer in the semi-finals but,
despite racking up 13 unforced errors, he still managed to break his
opponent again at 5-4 to win the first set.
Nishikori continued to make mistakes as the Spaniard went into a 2-0
lead in the next and then survived a break point to go 3-1 ahead.
Yet the Japanese world number five rallied to level at 4-4 before,
in Andujar's next service game, a double fault gifted Nishikori
match point and a backhand down the line gave him victory.
[to top of second column] |
Nishikori exploded on the tennis scene last year, reaching his first
ever Grand Slam final at the US Open and he will be among the
favorites to win the French Open next month.
Strong from the back of the court, he is well suited to clay courts,
also having reached the final of the Madrid Open in 2014 where he
had to retire injured against Rafael Nadal.
(Editing by Ian Chadband)
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