Nishikori stuns Norrie: "I never had someone return my serve like that"
Kei Nishikori impressed crowd-favorite Cameron Norrie after the 6/4, 6/4, 6/0 triumph on the Centre Court.
The atmosphere on the Centre Court played an important role in Nishikori game: “I had a good feel for things and went into the match with confidence. As I made my way to Centre Court, I could feel more and more motivated.", declared the Japanese.
Norrie was dangerous in the first set when he broke and obtained a two games advantage at 4-2. Nishikori broke back immediately and won the set with 6-4. The second set started with both players failing to win their service games, but Kei broke again at 1-1 and kept that advantage to make it 2-0. Regarding the last set, the Japanese described it for Kyodo News: “My final set was perfect. My service game was good and allowed me to attack his shallow returns."
On the other side, Cameron was amazed by the way Nishikori returned his serves: "I think Kei actually returned unbelievable today. I think I have never had someone return my serve like that. I think he put a lot of pressure on me in that respect. I could have hit my spots a little bit better, but he played great today, [a] very clean match."
Surprisingly, Norrie was not upset about his defeat. Instead, he felt proud of the way he acted on the court at this Wimbledon edition where he, let’s not forget, eliminated Denis Istomin in straight sets. "I just wanted to focus on my tennis starting off, and I think I got off to a great start. I don't think I was really too fazed by the occasion, but a phenomenal experience today. I was just really happy with the way I handled myself. I think it was a great experience for me, and I think I have progressed a lot with my tennis and my game. So I'm really excited about next year."
Nishikori is now at one win away of obtaining his 400th career win and he will have the chance to do so against American Steve Johnson who eliminated Alex de Minaur in five sets.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Ntx5pV
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