RIO DE JANEIRO — Kei Nishikori smashed his racket into the red clay after losing the first set on Tuesday, an unusual burst of anger from the usually calm Japanese player.
Destroying the racket didn’t help.
He lost the second set, too, as Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci upset the top seed in the first round of the Rio Open 6-4, 6-3.
"It could be the worst match in the last few years," Nishikori said.
Asked if it was the angriest he’s ever been on a court, he replied: "Yes, it could have been."
Besides pulverizing the racket, Nishikori also complained about the "heavy balls," and the "high bounces" on the surface in Rio as his trip around the Latin American clay circuit ended quickly.
The No. 5-ranked Nishikori reached the final last week in Buenos Aires, losing to Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine. It was his sixth straight loss in a final since winning the Memphis Open a year ago.
"I think the ball was the most difficult to adjust to," he said. "I couldn’t do anything today."
It was a different story for Bellucci, the home country favourite who pulled a huge upset during Carnival week in Brazil.
"You don’t see Kei break the racket often," Bellucci said.
The No. 75-ranked Bellucci had lost his previous two matches against Nishikori, including a three-set loss two years ago in the first round of the French Open.
"For me it’s amazing to have a victory like this in Brazil," Bellucci said. "He’s an unbelievable player. A top five. So it was amazing."
In other first-round matches, No. 4-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain beat Brazil’s Joao Souza 6-3, 6-2 and No. 6 David Ferrer lost to Dolgopolov 6-4, 6-4.
No. 2-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria played late against Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia.
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