Nishikori, Pliskova claim Brisbane titles

BRISBANE, Australia: Japanese star Kei Nishikori claimed his first title since 2016 when he downed Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in the final of the Brisbane International on Sunday.

The Japanese star had not won a tournament since Memphis in 2016 and was hampered by a wrist injury the following year which forced a break from the 2018 tour.

He was runner-up in Brisbane in 2017 but went one better this year in a superb final.

Nishikori dominated his Russian rival throughout, despite a slight hiccup when one poor service game cost him the second set.

The second seed started slowly and went down 0-3 to the Russian.

But he recovered to break back and then seized the advantage at 3-3 when he broke Medvedev again, taking the first set in 42 minutes.

Nishikori was all over the Russian in the second set, his powerful and well-directed groundstrokes forcing Medvedev into errors.

Medvedev held on against Nishikori’s multiple chances to break at 2-2 and 3-3 and took advantage of his opponent’s poor service game to break ahead.

But any thought the Russian would take the momentum into the decider proved wrong as Nishikori stormed to a 5-1 lead, eventually wrapping up the final in just over two hours.

Meanwhile, Karolina Pliskova used all her big match experience as she came from a set down to overhaul Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko and win the Brisbane International on Sunday.

The unseeded Tsurenko looked headed for the biggest win of her career when serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set, only for Pliskova to come storming back to win 4-6,7-5, 6-2 and claim her second Brisbane title.

Pliskova, the tournament’s Czech fifth seed, started slowly and paid the penalty against Tsurenko, who was serving superbly and winning the battle from the baseline.

Tsurenko took the first set in 38 minutes, firing 10 winners and making 81 percent of her first serves. She took that form into the second set and broke Pliskova early.