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Miomir Kecmanovic spoiled the party for Japanese No. 1 Yoshihito Nishioka and the Tokyo crowd on Wednesday with a battling victory under the closed roof in the Ariake Colosseum.

With the 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-2 result, the Serbian earned his first win at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in his second appearance.

"I feel so good to be able to finally win a good match," he said after his first triumph since the US Open. "[Nishioka] is very difficult to play. He doesn't really give you much. He gets a lot of balls back, so it's definitely tough to play him, but after the last time we played [a loss at Rome 2020], I was happy that I was able to win this time."

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Back in front of the Japanese crowd for the first time since 2019, Nishioka made a bright start as he sought to live up to lofty expectations in his home nation. After falling behind 0-2, the 27-year-old clicked into gear as he won six straight games, finding joy with his heavy, lefty forehand as he ran away with the set.

But a loose game midway through set two helped Kecmanovic find his footing, and though Nishioka prevented his opponent from serving out the set at 5-3, the Japanese star struggled in a one-sided tie-break as Kecmanovic grew in confidence.

"I think I was just being more patient," the Serbian said, describing the key to the turnaround. "Maybe I was rushing a little bit. Thankfully it paid off."

The World No. 33 continued to dictate play in set three, twice battling through deuce to break serve in building a 4-0 lead. A frustrated and seemingly tired Nishioka fought until the last ball, saving one match point at 1-5 with an ace, and another two on return at 2-5. But a backhand error sealed his fate as Kecmanovic improved to 2-1 in the pair's ATP Head2Head series.

The Serbian, who fired 12 aces in the two-hour, 10-minute match, will next face eighth seed Daniel Evans for a place in the quarter-finals.

Nishioka entered Tokyo at a career-high of No. 41 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and opened his campaign three days after winning his second ATP Tour title on Sunday in Seoul. With that victory, he became the first player from his nation to win a tour-level title since Kei Nishikori won Brisbane in 2019.

With the defeat in his fifth Tokyo appearance, Nishioka's second-round run in 2019 remains his best result at the ATP 500 event.

Nishioka was seeking to become the third Japanese player to reach the Tokyo second round, after qualifier Rio Noguchi and lucky loser Hiroki Moriya advanced on Tuesday. An ATP Tour record nine Japanese men were among the 32-player singles draw.

Serbian to face Tiafoe in quarter-finals
Miomir Kecmanovic saved six match points in a single game — including one with a tweener — to stay alive against Daniel Evans, then used his new life to capture a stirring victory on Thursday in Tokyo.

In a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4) win, the Serbian trailed 0/40 with Evans serving at 5-4 in the third set. With his back firmly against the wall, he produced a series of stunning winners to break in a four-deuce game, the longest of the match. Kecmanovic then saw a match point of his own go begging on return at 6-5, before closing out the tie-break by winning its final four points.

"That was the first time that I was able to do that," Kecmanovic said of his match-point saves. "I was completely tuned out of the match and I just went for it in that moment."


The Serbian revealed that the tweener he hit, down match point at Ad-in, was the first time he was able to pull of the circus shot. After tracking down a lob and roping the tweener to force Evans into a difficult volley, Kecmanovic forced a volley error as he powered a backhand at the eighth seed.

"It was amazing, It's the first time I ever made that shot in a match," he said. "I'm beyond happy that I was able to do it."

After winning the opening set with a single break, Kecmanovic broke first in both the second and third sets before Evans turned the tables to lead. From 1-4 in the third, Evans won four straight games to bring up an opportunity to serve for the match, ultimately falling one point short in agonising fashion.

"I had a lot of ups and downs, especially in the third set, being up 4-1," Kecmanovic reflected. "Somehow I managed to stay in, and thankfully I'm still here."