WASHINGTON — Reigning US Open champion Marin Cilic and runner-up Kei Nishikori advanced to the third round of the ATP and WTA Washington Open in hard-fought matches that finished early Wednesday morning. Japan's fifth-ranked Nishikori rallied to beat Australian James Duckworth 6-7 (8/10), 6-1, 6-4 while Croatia's eighth-ranked Cilic defeated 77th-ranked South Korean teen Chung Hyeon 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 in their first hardcourt appearances on the road to this year's US Open. "It wasn't easy to put him away," Cilic said. "He's a great counterpuncher." Cilic, the first reigning US Open champion to play in the US capital since Andre Agassi in 2000, and second seed Nishikori each had first round byes and saw their matches pushed into the wee hours by a rain delay. Next in Nishikori's path will be the winner of a Wednesday match between Argentina's Leonardo Mayer and Slovenia's Blaz Rola. The 25-year-old Asian No. 1, playing his first match since pulling out of Wimbledon in the second round with a calf injury, fought back after dropping a tense tie-breaker to seize command of the match. Cilic booked a third-round meeting with American Sam Querrey, who fired 26 aces to oust Japan's Go Soeda 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. Steve Johnson beat Lukas Lacko 7-5, 6-3, while 2006 Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis withdrew because of a groin injury. A former No. 1 and two-time major champion Lleyton Hewitt smacked a volley winner to cap a 25-stroke exchange and finish off a 6-3, 6-4 victory over qualifier John-Patrick Smith in an all-Australian first-round match. In women's first-round matches, Russian top seed Ekaterina Makarova downed Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck 7-5, 7-5 and Aussie second seed Samantha Stosur, the 2011 US Open champion, defeated France's Kristina Mladenovic 6-2, 6-2 for her 500th career match victory. In other women's action Tuesday, Christina McHale knocked off No. 7 seed CoCo Vandeweghe 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in an all-American match-up. Date-Krumm stuns Lisicki Evergreen Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm came from behind to score an upset victory over Germany's Sabine Lisicki at the Stanford WTA tournament Tuesday. Date-Krumm, 44, who was forced to qualify for the main draw, looked to be heading to a rapid defeat after Lisicki whizzed through the first set, winning 6-1. But the ageless Japanese favorite fought back brilliantly to clinch a second set tie-break before wrapping up the decider to seal a 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 triumph. Date-Krumm will now play Ajla Tomljanovic in the second round. Tomljanovic defeated Vitalia Diatchenko 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 to advance. Elsewhere Tuesday, both seeded players in action advanced safely, with eighth-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina beating compatriot Kateryna Bondarenko, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. German fifth seed Angelique Kerber, meanwhile, had little difficulty in dispatching Russia's Daria Gavrilova, winning 6-1, 6-3. Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, who received a bye in the first round, will play America's Varvara Lepchenko in her first match. Lepchenko outlasted Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(4) to advance to the second round. — Agencies
