Nishikori cruises through in Tokyo

KeiNishikori

The home favourite lived up to the expectations of a capacity crowd in Tokyo to progress 6-3 6-4 at the ATP 500 hard-court tournament.

Coming off his triumph at the Malaysian Open, US Open finalist Nishikori dominated throughout, winning 16 points on Dodig's second serve to set up a second-round clash with American Donald Young.

And the world number seven was quick to credit the support in the Japanese capital for his success.

"I felt more pressure in New York [at the US Open], it was my first grand slam final," Nishikori said. "Here, I could really feel the support.

"Winning Kuala Lumpur gave me more confidence. I try not to pay attention to the crowd or what the opponent is doing, but it's always good to play at home. I can feel the support here."

While Nishikori coasted to a straightforward win, there was disappointment for compatriot Tatsuma Ito, whose challenge was ended in the second round by Benjamin Becker.

Ito had knocked out top seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the first round, however, the wildcard could not carry that performance into his clash with the German, who needed just an hour and 11 minutes to come through 6-3 6-3.

The longest match of the day came as France's Gilles Simon fought back to overcome Gilles Muller of Luxembourg in a gruelling three-set encounter that lasted two hours and 20 minutes.

Muller fired down 15 aces in the match but could not recover after losing the second-set tiebreak as Simon secured a 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 success.

Elsewhere in the draw there were wins for Americans Steve Johnson and Jack Sock over Marcel Granollers and Andrey Golubev respectively.

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