Kevin Anderson, Nick Kyrgios, Kei Nishikori move along in Japan

ATP Tour
Kevin Anderson in action

Second seed Kevin Anderson kicked off his Japan Open campaign with a battling win over Matthew Ebden.

The South African came from a set down to beat Ebden from Australia 4-6, 7-5 (7-1), 6-2.

“It was definitely a tough match. Playing Matt, he has great hands and feel, he moves very well, he uses pace very well and I think he was doing it very effectively through almost the whole match,” Anderson, who will face American Frances Tiafoe in the second round, said.

“I really had to dig out some break points in the second set, which I think was really important in the end. Fortunately I was able to really pick up and play a great tie-break.”

Nick Kyrgios also won his opening clash as he beat local hope Yoshihito Nishioka 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) to set up a match against eighth seed Richard Gasquet.

Kei Nishikori flew the flag for Japan as the third seed beat Benoit Paire 6-3, 7-5 to move into the quarter-finals.

Australian teenager Alex De Minaur set up a second-round encounter against fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas with a 6-7 (1-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 win over Gilles Simon.

Meanwhile, we could be in for an-all Canadian semi-final as Denis Shapovalov overcame Stan Wawrinka 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 and Milos Raonic beat Yosuke Watanuki 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).

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