Kei Nishikori survived a spirited fightback from David Goffin to book his place in the third round of the Madrid Open this morning.
After retiring from last year's final against Rafael Nadal with a back injury, Nishikori remains on course to bounce back from that heartbreak with a 6-2 4-6 6-4 win in just under two hours.
The former US Open finalist barely broke sweat as he cruised into a first-set advantage, inflicting two breaks of serve in the first three games to move 3-0 ahead and never looked back.
The Belgian, who sits 16 places below his Japanese counterpart in the ATP rankings, displayed a resilience that eluded him in the opening set. Both players held their respective serve until Nishikori's resistance waned in the 10th game as Goffin levelled up the match.
A nervy opening to the deciding set saw the duo lose their serve once apiece in the first two games, but both settled as the clash hung in the balance at 4-4.
However, a costly broken service game from Goffin in the ninth game handed Nishikori the invitation to close the game out, and the 25-year-old made no mistake as he moves one step closer to avenging his final heartbreak of 12 months ago.
Shane Callaghan
