INDIAN WELLS, March 13 ― Sixth-seeded Kei Nishikori was sent packing by 67th-ranked Hubert Hurkacz of Poland yesterday in the third round of the ATP Indian Wells Masters.
Hurkacz rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory, recovering a break in the third set to post his second win in as many tournaments over Nishikori after a second-round triumph in Dubai.
That victory, which put him into his first ATP quarter-final, propelled Hurkacz to his current career-high ranking.
Now Hurkacz is in the last 16 of a Masters 1000 event for the first time and will play 19-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov for a place in the quarter-finals.
Shapovalov, ranked 25th in the world, needed just 72 minutes to beat 11th-ranked Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-4, 6-2.
Nishikori was denied a fourth last-16 appearance at Indian Wells in his most recent four appearances. He missed the tournament last year because of illness.
“Credit to him today,” said the Japanese star. “I started good, but obviously he played much better in the second and third.
“He started making more serves,” he added of Hurkacz, who fired 10 aces. “He was playing more solid from the baseline. He was playing everything better, playing aggressive and serving better.
“If I could have gotten a few points maybe things (would have) changed. But I couldn't.” ― AFP
