Nishikori expects tough challenge in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR — Kei Nishikori, Asia's top player, will face a tough fight in the ATP Tour's Malaysian Open which begins on Monday.

Nishikori, the third seed for the event at the Putra Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, is joined in draw by the in-form world No. 5 and top seed David Ferrer of Spain, and world No. 11 Juan Monaco from Argentina, the second seed.

Rising star Nishikori, the world No. 17, receives a bye into the second round of the 28-player tournament as one of the top four seeds.

But lying in wait for Nishikori, who reached the last four in 2011, is a likely semifinal against Monaco and, should he win that, a potential final against Ferrer.

Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, ranked 19th in the world, completes the top four seeds.

"I was a losing semifinalist last year, and even then, it was difficult just to reach the top four," Nishikori said on Saturday.

"That shows how difficult this tournament is. I hope to do better this year, but there are three tough players to contend with. We shall see how it goes."

Nishikori said recently in Singapore that he needed to emulate U.S. Open champion Andy Murray's new aggressive style of play if he is to challenge the top players in the men's game.

Spaniard Ferrer is enjoying the best season of his life. He has won five titles on the ATP tour in 2012, reached Grand Slam semifinals at the U.S. and French Opens and the made quarterfinals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Ferrer took a week off after leading Spain into the Davis Cup final with victory over the Czech Republic in Gijon last Sunday.

Monaco is making his Malaysian Open debut but comes to Kuala Lumpur with three 2012 ATP Tour victories under his belt.

Brian Baker of the U.S., the world No. 62 who made a remarkable comeback in 2011 after six years out with multiple injuries that required five surgeries, also plays in the event which has a prize purse of $947,750.

SEOUL — Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki beat injury-plagued Kaia Kanepi 6-1, 6-0 Sunday to win the KDB Korea Open.

Wozniacki from Denmark needed only about one hour to defeat the third-seeded Kanepi of Estonia to win the tournament on Seoul's Olympic Park hard courts. It was Wozniacki's 19th career WTA victory.

She defeated Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 in the semifinals while Kanepi advanced the finals after beating Varvara Lepchenko of the United States 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

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