Kei Nishikori defeats Tomas Berdych in three sets

Kei Nishikori was taken to three sets by Tomas Berdych as he won his first match of the ATP Tour Finals 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

Nishikori and Berdych both lost their first encounters of the tournament, and it was difficult to separate the two of the in the first set. Ultimately, Nishikori’s slight superiority told when he broke in the penultimate game to win the first set 7-5.

Nishikori then broke in the opening game of the second set in what seemed set to become an easy victory for the Japanese No 1, but Berdych took six games in a row to move to 5-2, and he took the set 6-3. It seemed that Nishikori began to physically fade as he faced the more powerful Czech, and the 30-year-old took advantage of an increasing number of errors.

In the third set, Nishikori was warned at 3-3 for exchanging a cracked racquet as he looked to defend some Berdych break points, and was eventually successful. From that point, it was Berdych who looked the least fit of the two, and his opponent broke at 5-3, and then took four straight points in his service game for victory.