Kei Nishikori earned his biggest win on clay in four years Monday when he overcame American Learner Tien 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the second round at the Gonet Geneva Open.
The Japanese star saved all three break points he faced in the third set, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to earn a hard-fought two-hour, eight-minute win against the World No. 67.
It is the first time Nishikori has defeated a Top 70 opponent on clay since then-World No. 25 Karen Khachanov at Roland Garros in 2021. Nishikori will meet Khachanov in the second round at the ATP 250. The 35-year-old is making his second appearance in Geneva, having lost in the semi-finals in 2017.
In other action, Briton Jacob Fearnley moved past Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 6-1 in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. Fearnley holds a 5-3 tour-level record on clay, having made his debut on the surface at that level in Barcelona last month. The 23-year-old will take on fifth seed Alexei Popyrin in the second round.
Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner dispatched qualifier Ivan Gakhov 6-1, 6-2 and Quentin Halys beat Jaume Munar 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5). Halys will play top seed Taylor Fritz in the second round and Ofner will face Nuno Borges.
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