Nishikori, Tsonga, Verdasco enter second round of Madrid Open

Johannesburg: Japan`s Kei Nishikori, American John Isner, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Spaniard Fernando Verdasco have sailed into the second round of the Madrid Open on the men`s side with their respective victories in the opening round.

Nishikori maintained his recent fine form going after winning the Barcelona Open last week with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Croatian Ivan Dodig to set up a meeting with Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the second round. According to Sport24, ninth-seeded Isner defeated Russia`s Teymuraz Gabashvili while Tsonga faced a stiffer test against fellow Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin, but also came through in three sets 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Meanwhile, Verdasco beat Italian Andreas Seppi 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) to enter the second round, the report added.