Memphis Open 2015: Daily Scores, Results and Draw Schedule
Kei Nishikori walked into Memphis and won the title in each of the prior two years, and the fifth-ranked men's tennis star notched the trifecta at the 2015 Memphis Open.
The indoor hard-court surfaces at the Racquet Club of Memphis played into the hands of towering, big-serving top seeds in Kevin Anderson, Ivo Karlovic and John Isner. However, Nishikori showed off his improved fitness and superior all-around game yet again to defeat Anderson in the final.
Continue on for updates as to how each day of this ATP World Tour 250 series tournament unfolded, as no one managed to take the trophy from Nishikori's firm grasp.
Note: Statistics are courtesy of ATPWorldTour.com unless otherwise indicated.
Draw Schedule
1 of 8
The 2015 Memphis Open will be held from Monday, Feb. 9 through Sunday, Feb. 15. An updated view of the draw can be viewed at ATPWorldTour.com, in addition to the daily schedule and results from each stage of the tournament.
Day 7 Recap
2 of 8
Men's Singles: Final
No. 1 Kei Nishikori def. No. 2 Kevin Anderson; 6-4, 6-4
Day 7 Recap
Kei Nishikori lived up to the hype as the Memphis Open's two-time reigning champion and top overall seed, taking down Kevin Anderson in straight sets.
This was the first match of the event in which Nishikori wasn't pushed to the full three sets—a suitable reward for the hard work he had to put in as the top man to beat. The Japanese star overcame 12 Anderson aces and an underwhelming service day to triumph.
Hitting just 50 percent of his first serves in play, Nishikori was on defense for much of the match yet managed to break Anderson three times. The big difference came on second serves, where Anderson lost eight of 13 points while Nishikori conceded just 12 of the 30 such rallies he faced.
This is Nishikori's eighth career ATP title, as he becomes the first man ever to win three straight Memphis Opens, per Greg Sharko of ATPWorldTour.com.
Whether Nishikori can challenge the likes of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Stanislas Wawrinka and others this season remains to be seen. The win in Memphis gives Nishikori plenty of fuel to move forward and continue climbing the ATP ranks.
Although Anderson met expectations by reaching the final as the No. 2 seed, he has to be disappointed. The massive South African has more talent than his two ATP titles indicate, so it will be interesting to see how his form holds up in the coming tournaments.
Day 6 Recap
3 of 8
Men's Singles: Semifinals
No. 2 Kevin Anderson def. Donald Young 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 1 Kei Nishikori def. Sam Querrey 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5)
Men's Doubles: Semifinals
No. 4 Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Santiago Gonzalez def. No. 1 Ivan Dodig and Max Mirnyi 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 10-5
Day 6 Recap
Donald Young's run through the Memphis Open came to an untimely end on Saturday, as he was knocked out in the semifinals by No. 2 seed Kevin Anderson. Even though the loss does end the chances of an all-American final, it was still a good run for the 25-year-old.
Young seemed to take his success this week in stride, telling reporters after the quarterfinals that being able to play the weekend was a nice positive step for his career, via ATPWorldTour.com:
"I got a little nervous there at the end, but I was happy to come through. Anytime you make the weekend, you’re playing well. I made the weekend; it hasn’t happened too often in my career, so when it happens I’m very excited. Hopefully it can happen more, but this is happening for the first time this year, so I’m excited.
"
Anderson completely overwhelmed Young, despite needing three sets, as he had 13 aces and just one double fault. The 6'8" veteran has to have his serve working to succeed, which was definitely the case in this match. He has been on fire all tournament, winning his first two matches in straight sets before the early hiccup Saturday.
On the doubles side, there was a small upset as Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Santiago Gonzalez knocked off the top-seeded duo of Ivan Dodig and Max Mirnyi. There wasn't a lot of separation in the stats for either team. In fact, the match was more about what Dodig and Mirnyi didn't do.
Dodig and Mirnyi only converted on six of 37 possible first-serve points in the return game. Fyrstenberg and Gonzalez dominated in that category, with 31 points when they were serving. That's the only major difference in the match.
For the second consecutive day, Nishikori needed three sets to advance. This one took an extra degree of difficulty because he needed two tiebreakers after losing the first set in order to secure a spot in the final against Anderson.
Querrey was masterful on the serve, hitting 27 aces, but it was when he had to play defense that things fell apart. If he had anything working in the return game, he would be battling for a title on Sunday.
Instead, Nishikori is going for the three-peat on Sunday.
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Day 5 Recap
4 of 8
Men's Singles: Quarterfinals
Donald Young def. Bernard Tomic 7-6(8), 4-6, 7-5
No. 2 Kevin Anderson def. No. 6 Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-4
No. 1 Kei Nishikori def. Austin Krajicek 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Sam Querrey def. John Isner 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2)
Men's Doubles: Quarterfinals
No. 4 Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Santiago Gonzalez def. Benjamin Becker and Dominik Meffert 7-5, 7-5
Artem Sitak and Donald Young def. No. 3 Eric Butorac and Rajeev Ram 6-3, 7-5
Day 5 Recap
Several great players shined on Day 5 at the Memphis Open, but there is no question that talented American Donald Young stood out above the rest.
The 25-year-old Chicago native was pushed to the brink by Australia's Bernard Tomic in singles competition, but he was ultimately able to come out on top by outlasting his favored opponent 7-5 in the decisive third set.
Young admitted that he almost let it get away from him, but he was happy to reach the semifinals regardless, according to ATPWorldTour.com.
"I got a little nervous there at the end, but I was happy to come through. Anytime you make the weekend, you're playing well. I made the weekend; it hasn't happened too often in my career, so when it happens I'm very excited. Hopefully it can happen more, but this is happening for the first time this year, so I'm excited.
"
The good results didn't end there for Young as he and Artem Sitak upset the American duo of Eric Butorac and Rajeev Ram to reach the doubles semifinals as well. Young and Sitak will have a chance to make a finals appearance if they can get past Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Santiago Gonzalez, who eliminated Benjamin Becker and Dominik Meffert.
While Young's win over Tomic was especially huge, he still has plenty of work ahead of him in the singles draw. That is due to the fact that No. 2 seed Kevin Anderson advanced to the semis by virtue of his straight-sets triumph against American Steve Johnson.
The 6'7" South African has one of the biggest serves in tennis, so Young will have his hands full and he'll most definitely have to earn a finals berth.
Top-seed Kei Nishikori survived an early scare from Austin Krajicek to advance to the semifinals. The 25-year-old Japanese star lost the first set and was tied 4-4 in the third set before he turned on the jets to keep his hopes for a third consecutive title alive.
For Krajicek, this was a strong tournament showing. He's not going to be happy with the loss, especially knowing there were chances to win, but the 22-year-old can build off what happened in this match to have a successful 2015.
The final match of the evening was one of the best in the tournament thus far, as Sam Querrey knocked off John Isner in two sets. Querrey needed two tiebreakers to waltz into the semifinals. He had four match points prior to sealing the victory, but five double-faults helped keep Isner in the match.
Querrey and Isner previously met in the 2010 Memphis Open final. Querrey won that match in three sets and got the better of his American counterpart one more time to set up a semifinal showdown with No. 1 seed Nishikori.
Day 4 Recap
5 of 8
Men's Singles: Round of 16
No. 6 Steve Johnson def. Dustin Brown 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3)
Donald Young def. Denis Kudla 7-5, 6-3
Bernard Tomic def. No. 4 Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-1, 7-5
No. 2 Kevin Anderson def. Sam Groth 6-3, 6-2
Recap
Alexandr Dolgopolov was the only ranked player to be felled on Thursday, as the 26-year-old Ukrainian star fell 1-6, 5-7, to Bernard Tomic. It's only the third time in eight meetings Tomic has beaten Dolgopolov.
Tomic was irresistible on serve, picking up nine aces to only one double fault. He also saved seven of Dolgopolov's eight break-point opportunities.
The other seeded players in action prevailed, with Steve Johnson downing Dustin Brown in three sets and Kevin Anderson cruising against Sam Groth.
The other notable result from Thursday was Donald Young's straight-sets victory over Denis Kudla.
"[It's great to] win a couple of matches in a row, Young said after the match, per ATPWorldTour.com. "I think it might be my best start to the year as far as that’s concerned. I'm definitely happy and excited to be in the quarters again."
Young was extremely efficient on serve. While he didn't blow Kudla away with tons of power, he placed his serves perfectly and rarely ceded the advantage to his opponent. For the match, Young won 42 of his 56 service points, including an outstanding 23-of-30 on second serve.
Young's failure to be the future of American men's tennis has been a much-discussed topic over the years, and while he'll never fulfill the early promise he showed in his career, Young is still capable of making a deep run every now and then.
It's his second quarterfinal of 2015.
The four quarterfinal matchups for the Memphis Open will be as follows:
- No. 1 Kei Nishikori vs. Austin Krajicek
- No. 3 John Isner vs. Sam Querrey
- Donald Young vs. Bernard Tomic
- No. 2 Kevin Anderson vs. No. 6 Steve Johnson
Stats are courtesy of ATPWorldTour.com.
Day 3 Recap
6 of 8
Men's Singles: Round 2
No. 1 Kei Nishikori def. Ryan Harrison 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Austin Krajicek def. No. 5 Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4
Sam Querrey def. Jared Donaldson 6-4, 6-1
John Isner def. Ivan Dodig 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
Recap
The biggest upset of the Memphis Open happened early on Wednesday, as fifth-seeded Ivo Karlovic was taken down by American Austin Krajicek in three sets.
Karlovic was his own worst enemy in the loss, offsetting an incredible 32 aces with nine double faults. The 24-year-old American, who primarily competes on the Challenger Tour, has had his best performance in an ATP event this year, previously being knocked out in the first round at the Ecuador Open.
In a battle of two Americans, Sam Querrey took out Jared Donaldon in straight sets. Querrey was also sloppy with six aces and four double faults, but he did have success by winning 61 percent of his second-serve points and 67 percent of second-return points.
This is already Querrey's best performance, by far, in 2015. He hadn't won a match in three tournaments before the Memphis Open, posting an 0-4 record if you include doubles matches. The last time he won two matches at an event was the U.S. Open in August.
Fortunately for Querrey, Novak Djokovic isn't waiting around to knock him out in straight sets.
Top-seeded Kei Nishikori was nearly bit by the upset bug, losing the first set against Ryan Harrison before bouncing back in the final two sets. The 25-year-old star is still chasing his first win this year after losing in the semifinals at the Brisbane International and quarterfinals at the Australian Open.
Nishikori will have to play much better next time around to keep those title hopes alive. He really struggled in the return game early, going 2-of-14 on first-serve return points won. He was able to weather the early storm, which is usually indicative of future success.
Stats via ATPWorldTour.com
Day 2 Recap
7 of 8
Men's Singles: Round 1
Ryan Harrison def Malek Jaziri 7-6(3), 7-6(1)
Austin Krajicek def Mikhail Kukushkin 6-2, 6-7(3), 7-6(8)
No. 5 Ivo Karlovic def Lukas Lacko 7-6(7), 6-3
Denis Kudla def Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-4
Bernard Tomic def Igor Sijsling 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Sam Groth def Yen-hsun Lu 6-4, 6-3
Recap
It was a successful day for the Americans in Memphis, as qualifiers Denis Kudla, Austin Krajicek and Ryan Harrison all advanced.
In terms of world ranking, Krajicek provided the biggest upset. The world No. 156 knocked off Mikhail Kukushkin, who entered the tournament ranked No. 58, and he needed over two-and-a-half hours to complete the victory. After splitting the first sets, neither player dropped his serve in a wild third that had to be decided by a thrilling 10-8 tiebreak.
Harrison's battle with Malek Jaziri was an equally close battle, but the American came through when it mattered, giving up just four total points in the two tiebreaks.
Denis Kudla, on the other hand, had very little trouble with Thanasi Kokkinakis. The big, powerful, 18-year-old Australian hit nine aces, but Kudla won a staggering 76 percent of his service points and got a key break in each set to cruise to the no-nonsense win.
Day 1 Recap
8 of 8
Men's Singles: Round 1
Ivan Dodig def. Teymuraz Gabashvili; 6-2, 6-2
Dustin Brown def. Marinko Matosevic; 6-4, 6-4
Donald Young def. No. 8 Adrian Mannarino; 6-3, 7-6 (9)
Jared Donaldson def. Stefan Kozlov; 7-5, 6-0
Recap
American Donald Young made headlines on Day 1 when he knocked off eighth-seeded Adrian Mannarino, capped off by a thrilling tiebreaker that went 11-9 in Young's favor.
According to MemphisOpen.com's McCarton Ackerman, Young had to ward off three set points in the tiebreaker and had to persevere to secure the victory.
Young has not quite lived up to the hype since his run to the U.S. Open's fourth round in 2011, but the 25-year-old may be turning a corner if Monday's performance is a sign of what's to come.
Both Ivan Dodig and Dustin Brown advanced with relative ease in wins over their respective opponents in Teymuraz Gabashvili and Marinko Matosevic.
Excitement built into the finale on the strength of Young's win, because U.S. teenage prodigy Jared Donaldson is scheduled to take on compatriot Stefan Kozlov.
ESPN.com's Peter Bodo suggests Donaldson has more upside to become the next big USA star than Young. Bodo states that Donaldson "seems to have more raw material to work with" with regard to his frame still needing to fill out and his emerging serve.
Donaldson put some of his immense talent on show in a 7-5, 6-0 victory. He teed off on Kozlov's second serve, winning 22 of Kozlov's 29 second-service points. As a result, Donaldson earned seven service breaks.
Tuesday's action features 2014 runner-up Ivo Karlovic, who will face off against Lukas Lacko as the fifth seed. The USA's Steve Johnson (No. 6) is also getting started against Dudi Sela.
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