TOKYO (AP)—Fourth-seeded Mardy Fish beat fellow American Ryan Harrison 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in the first round at the Japan Open on Monday.
Fish relied on his serve-and-volley game to outlast Harrison, who displayed a blistering forehand throughout the match.
With the final set tied 5-5, Harrison gave up a break before Fish served out the match. Fish sealed the win with a forehand winner after Harrison had staved off two match points.
“It was a close match,” Fish said. “It could have gone either way. He played well.”
Fish was impressed by his 19-year-old opponent, who had to qualify for the main draw.
“He’s a strong player and I think he will be a top player in the future,” he said.
Earlier, seventh-seeded Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic beat Somdev Devvarman of India 6-4, 6-3 in another first-round match. Stepanek and Devvarman exchanged breaks in the first set before Stepanek broke the Indian again in the 10th game to take the set.
Devvarman broke Stepanek in the opening game of the second set and moved out to a 3-1 lead, but Stepanek then reeled off five straight games to take the match.
Also, qualifier Matthew Ebden of Australia beat Pablo Andujar of Spain 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4.
Top seed Rafael Nadal, the defending champion in the $1.2 million event, will take on wild card Go Soeda of Japan in the first round Tuesday. Also on court Tuesday will be second seed Andy Murray of Great Britain, who will meet Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.