All eyes might be on Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as they try to jumpstart their belated seasons in Monte Carlo, but another recovering player has quietly gotten off to good a start worthy of some love.
Kei Nishikori has won his first two matches in Monte Carlo, both against quality opponents, to advance to the round of sixteen. A slow start against Tomas Berdych in the first round (that’s how far Nishikori’s ranking has fallen—Berdych was his opening round opponent) looked ominous.
But Nishikori bounced back in a big way to route Berdych 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. He followed it up with a solid victory over Daniil Medvedev, 7-5, 6-2 on Wednesday.
