Olympia: Nishikori and Schwartzman win, Hurkacz and Karatsev eliminated
Kei Nishikori and Diego Schwartzman qualified for the round of 16 of the Tokyo Olympics. Hubert Hurkacz and Aslan Karatsev , however, suffered surprising defeats.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Jul 27, 2021, 12:45 pm
After Naomi Osaka's early retirement, all the pressure from Japanese tennis fans is now on Kei Nishikori. At least in the second round of the Olympic Games, the 31-year-old held this stand and prevailed on Center Court against the American Marcos Giron with 7: 6 (5), 3: 6 and 6: 1. Nishikori will now face Ilya Ivashka, who was victorious against Mikhail Kukushkin in three sets.
Meanwhile, Diego Schwartzman also made it to the round of 16. The Argentine defeated Tomas Machac 6: 4 and 7: 5 and is now up against Karen Khachanov, who defeated James Duckworth in two rounds.
Chardy and Broady surprise
For Khachanov's compatriot Aslan Karatsev, however, the dream of an Olympic medal is over. The Australian Open semi-finalist lost to Jeremy Chardy 5: 7, 6: 4 and 3: 6. The world number 68. plays in the round of 16 with Liam Broady now against another surprise man: The Briton beat Wimbledon semi-finalist Hubert Hurkacz 7: 5, 3: 6 and 6: 3.
In addition to Chardy, another Frenchman also made his second appearance successfully with Ugo Humbert: The 23-year-old won against Miomir Kecmanovic in three close sets. He will now meet Stefanos Tsitsipas, who won his second round game early on Tuesday .