Lightning struck twice for Kei Nishikori as the defending Japan Open champion was ambushed by “shoeless” Frenchman Benoit Paire in an explosive semi-final on Saturday.
Paire, playing in a pair of badly torn sneakers following a forlorn dash to buy some new ones, won a nail-biter 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 to prove his first-round win over Nishikori at the US Open six weeks ago was no fluke.
Top seed Stan Wawrinka awaits his close friend in Sunday’s ATP Tokyo final after the French Open champion produced a clinical 6-4, 7-6 win over Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller.
Nishikori’s bid for a third Japan Open crown in four years came to a shuddering halt as Paire roared back from dropping a whirlwind first set in just 20 minutes.
“One minute he was missing, the next he wasn’t,” shrugged Nishikori, at a loss to explain his collapse. “I started well but when he lifted his game, I didn’t seem to be able to cope.”
His tattered shoes held together with medical tape and with only one spare racquet in his kit bag, Paire levelled the match by ripping a backhand down the line, celebrating with a gunslinger’s pose as the crowd fell silent.
The bearded Frenchman broke early in the decider and the world No 32 fought off a late salvo from Nishikori to complete the coup de grace after 1 hour, 48 minutes with a massive forehand into the corner.
“He suddenly started hitting some great shots,” conceded Nishikori. “You have to give him credit for the quality of his play. He’s a very difficult opponent.”
In contrast, Wawrinka never looked troubled in his semi-final, taking the opening set with little fuss in chilly conditions, a booming serve giving the muscular Swiss the advantage.
Twice Muller double-faulted to gift Wawrinka a break in the second, only for the world No 4 to immediately surrender his own serve.
But Wawrinka, chasing a fourth title of the year and the 11th of his career, knuckled down in the tiebreaker and closed out proceedings with a crunching forehand return which Muller could only volley wide.
“Benoit is a great player and a fun player to watch,” said Wawrinka, looking ahead to the final. “He is crazy in his game and can play shots nobody else can play. The important thing is that I’m in the final. The one who is more aggressive and puts all his game on court will win.”
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UAE and Russia in numbers
UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years
Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018
More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE
Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE
The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
Company%20Profile
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
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