Rome — Japan’s Kei Nishikori eased into the second round of the ATP Italian Open in Rome on Monday as Italy’s Roberta Vinci bowed out of her final WTA tournament with a first-round defeat to a qualifier. Former US Open finalist Vinci fell 2-6 6-0 6-3 to Serbian qualifier Aleksandra Krunic on the red clay of the Foro Italico. The 35-year-old reached the US Open final in 2010 and won 10 singles titles in her career spanning nearly two decades. Novak Djokovic got off to a winning start in his bid for a fifth Italian Open title beating Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-1 6-3. The 11th-seeded Serb has reached eight of the last 10 finals in Rome and won four. Nishikori — who had lost his two matches on clay in Spain in the previous two weeks — needed 1hr 48min to hand Spaniard Feliciano Lopez his sixth defeat in seven trips to the Italian capital 7-6 (7/5) 6-4. "It wasn’t an easy match. It was windy so conditions were tough for both of us," said 24th-ranked Nishikori, who hit 18 winners to ...
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