Nishikori beats veteran Croatian Karlovic at Australian Open

Melbourne, Jan 17 (IANS) Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori defeated 39-year-old veteran Croatian Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 7-6(6), 5-7, 5-7, 7-6(7) in round two of the men's singles at the Australian Open on Thursday.

Melbourne Park buzzed with excitement during what was the most tense game of Thursday morning which had players with two completely opposing styles of play, reports Efe news.

Nishikori, reigning champion of the Brisbane tournament, defeated Poland's Kamil Majchrzak on Monday in another tense match that saw the Japanese player make some mistakes against a tough opponent.

Nishikori, who fell to Karlovic twice earlier, will move into the third round against the winner of the upcoming match between Portuguese Joao Sousa and the German Philip Kohlschreiber.