The Samurai

Sakamoto had to battle against his own countryman to get here...

Indeed, it was quite a fun match against Nishikori. If you just saw the audience, you would've thought that the match took place in Japan; it was almost filled with Japanese people! It turned out to be quite a nice match for the younger Japanese, as Nishikori, naturally, was the one who faded quicker in the humid conditions. Apart from that, Sakamoto was able to match Nishikori when it came to aggressive returning and good ball-striking, so it was quite a comfortable match for him in the end. Something that I did like was that he played a really good tiebreak under a lot of pressure. I would say that Rei is quite a streaky player with a big game that is dangerous when he catches fire; we have seen that a few times now.

Well, he certainly did not get the worst draw in his first main draw round - Vukic. We've been quite high on Vukic during the North American hardcourt swing, but it does feel like his momentum has slowed down a bit. Most of his wins are against beatable CH/lower-level ATP players, where his basic game and consistency work excellently. In terms of momentum, I would definitely give the advantage to Rei, who is coming through qualifying, finishing with a really nice and feel-good match with a Japanese theme ;) Vukic is known to have big battles in Grand Slams, but he has not had any real success at the US Open. However, he is still a bit of a trap, since he is able to maintain a decent level for a long time, something that can work well to overcome players who are a bit more streaky. Rei actually lost in straight sets to Vukic last year, at home, in Tokyo (despite winning more points). Will Sakamoto be able to ride the momentum and get his revenge, or will Vukic grab his first win at the USO instead?