Nishikori making great strides

Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese man in 75 years to reach the French Open's fourth round, doing so with a victory where his opponent was docked a point for being coached.

The 13th-seeded Nishikori beat No 24 Benoit Paire of France 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-1 on Saturday.

Paire had a set point while leading 5-4 in the second and Nishikori serving. But Paire was given a point penalty by chair umpire Enric Molina for coaching, which is not allowed at Grand Slam tournaments, and Nishikori wound up holding serve.

Paire said later that his coach was merely putting his hands in the air to offer encouragement.

"For sure, it's not fair. You see every coach do the same thing," Paire said. "If it's the best player in the world, (Molina) doesn't (give a) warning."

Paire did manage to win that set, anyway, but was broken in the last game of the third when he missed a drop shot.

Japan's Fumiteru Nakano lost in the fourth round in Paris in 1938.

Associated Press

(China Daily 06/02/2013 page7)