LONDON: Kei Nishikori shook off an opening day drubbing by Novak Djokovic to beat Tomas Berdych 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in the best match yet at the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday.

The Japanese world No.8 looked in trouble when he faced a break point at 3-3 in the deciding set but he finished fast to register his first win in Stan Smith Group.

“I got a bit lucky in the last couple of games but I worked really hard today,” the 25-year-old, who reached the semifinals on his debut at the tournament last season, said on court.

A match full of powerful baseline rallies ebbed and flowed.

World No.6 Berdych, who was beaten by Roger Federer in his opening match, squandered a great chance in the first set when Nishikori was serving at 4-5 15-30, missing a wide-open court with a backhand at the end of brilliant rally.

It proved costly as Berdych dropped serve in the next game and Nishikori clinched the set on serve with a pinpoint forehand winner past the wrong-footed Czech.

Nishikori went 2-0 ahead in the second set but Berdych reeled off five games in a row with some thunderous winners to turn the match around and send it toward a deciding set — the first so far in the singles this year at the O2 Arena.

An engrossing third set reached a crucial juncture at 3-3 when a lucky net cord gave Berdych a break point, but Nishikori showed great defensive skills to fend off a big attack from his Czech opponent and kept his nose ahead at 4-3.

Two forehand errors from the Berdych racket allowed Nishikori to move 5-3 ahead and the Japanese player secured victory with a love hold.

Rafa Nadal’s late-season resurgence continued at the ATP World Tour Finals when he beat wayward French Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-2 to open his account on Monday.

The Spaniard, who has climbed back to fifth in the rankings after falling to 10th in a miserable summer, took advantage of an error-strewn Wawrinka display to move level with Andy Murray at the top of Ilie Nastase Group.

Nadal, back at the Tour Finals after missing out last year because of appendicitis surgery, dropped his opening service game to love but then broke Wawrinka’s as the first nine points all went the way of the receiver.

Wawrinka blazed a forehand to fall 5-3 behind in the opener and Nadal wrapped up the set with an ace.

Nadal failed to convert any of the seven break points Wawrinka offered up at the start of the second set and then had to save two himself in the next game, one with a stunning lob.

World No.4 Wawrinka offered precious little resistance after that and his unforced error count climbed to 35 as Nadal raced to victory.

Bopanna in doubles semis

India’s Rohan Bopanna and his doubles partner Florin Mergea booked their place in the World Tour Finals last four on Tuesday with a straight sets win at London’s O2 Arena.

The eighth-ranked side beat home favorite Jamie Murray of Great Britain and Australia’s John Peers 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), the fourth-ranked pairing, to secure a semifinals spot.

Bopanna and his Romanian partner beat US identical twins Bob and Mike Bryan, the reigning champions, in their opening group game Sunday.

They have a third and final group game remaining against Italian partnership Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini before the semis.