ROTTERDAM: Top seed Kei Nishikori was tested by a stubborn opponent before finally putting away Pierre-Hugues Herbert 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 here at the Rotterdam Open on Tuesday.

The Japanese world number seven needed an hour and a quarter to get on track against a player who had reached the Montpellier final barely 48 hours earlier against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Second seed Karen Khachanov, winner of the Paris Masters title last November, fell in a shock to Dutch wildcard Tallon Griekspoor, who recovered for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 upset of the Russian. The defeat leaves Khachanov winless here in three attempts.

Victory marked the second Rotterdam upset for the 211th-ranked local, who put out Stan Wawrinka a year ago in his hometown for his first career ATP Tour-level win.

Nishikori finally earned his first break well into the evening against Herbert, taking a 3-1 lead in the second set after dropping the first.

That opened the floodgates, with Asia’s top player quickly finding his recovery mode to run out the tight first-round victory after two hours and 10 minutes, saving break points as he served out the win.

Nishikori could not have asked for a more difficult Rotterdam debut as he faced the 36th-ranked Frenchman.

The victory sent Nishikori to 9-1 this season after starting 2019 with a Brisbane title and an Australian Open quarter-final appearance.

He was forced to quit his match in Melbourne against Novak Djokovic in the second set due to a knee problem, cured by rest over the past two weeks in Florida.

Nishikori next faces Ernests Gulbis, who beat Marius Copil 6-2, 6-4 in a battle of qualifying lucky losers.

Milos Raonic and Denis Shapovalov scored a first-round double for Canada, with both powering ahead in straight sets.

Raonic, the fourth seed, fought past German Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (10-8), 7-5 on the back of 21 aces.

Shapovalov, seeded 10th, defeated Croatian Franko Skugor 7-5, 6-3.

Raonic had to work to get past a 2016 semi-finalist at the Ahoy stadium.

The Canadian set up a second-round meeting with Wawrinka, whom he beat in an Australian Open marathon last month.

Raonic has beaten Wawrinka — a former Rotterdam winner -- in their last three meetings. The Swiss is putting the final polish on his game as he completes a return from two knee operations in August 2017.

Shapovalov dominated Croatian qualifier Skugor in their first-time meeting as both made Rotterdam debuts.

Gael Monfils earned an upset of Belgian eighth seed David Goffin 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, while former champion Tomas Berdych beat Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-6 (10-8), 6-4.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2019