Kei Nishikori is a Japanese tennis player, currently ranked World No. 11 as of 7 July
2014.
He is the only Japanese tennis player ever to be ranked inside the top 10 in ATP Singles
Ranking.
He began playing tennis at the age of five and qualified for his first ATP main draw
event at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles at the age of 17.
Nishikori was named ATP Newcomer of the Year in 2008.
He has won five singles titles and has reached the quarter-finals of the 2012 Australian
Open.
Personal life Nishikori lives in Florida and trains at IMG
Academy.
His father, Kiyoshi, is an engineer, and his mother, Eri, is a piano teacher.
He has an older sister, Reina, who graduated from college and works in Tokyo.
His pastimes include football, golf, reading, and listening to music.
In the video game Grand Slam Tennis, Nishikori is classed as an all-court player, and his
special ability is his endurance.
In December 2010, it was announced that Nishikori would be coached by Brad Gilbert for the 2011
season and by Dante Bottini from IMG Academy Gilbert has also coached Andy Murray and former
World No. 1s Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick.
Since January 2014, Nishikori is coached by former world No. 2 Michael Chang.
Career Junior career
Nishikori won the 2004 title at the Riad 21 Tournament in Rabat, Morocco and was a quarter-finalist
at the 2006 Junior French Open.
He partnered with Emiliano Massa to win the 2006 Junior French Open.
Nishikori won the 2007 Luxilon Cup held at the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open by defeating Michael
McClune.
As a junior he compiled a 73–37 win/loss record in singles, achieving a combined ranking
of No. 7 in the world in July 2006.
Junior Slam results – Singles: Australian Open: QF
French Open: QF Wimbledon: 1R
US Open: 3R 2006
Nishikori qualified and won the title at the ITF Futures event in Mazatlán, Mexico.
He began the year by receiving a wildcard to the Kyoto Challenger in Kyoto, Japan.
2007 A finalist in two USTA Pro Circuit events,
Nishikori lost to Donald Young in Little Rock, Arkansas and Alex Bogomolov, Jr. in Carson,
California.
He partnered with Donald Young to win the doubles title at Little Rock.
He paired with triple-French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten at the Sony Ericsson Open
in Miami, Florida, where they lost in the first round.
Nishikori served as a hitting partner for Roger Federer at Wimbledon.
After his ATP main draw debut in Los Angeles, he qualified for the Indianapolis Tennis Championships
in July 2007.
He beat Alejandro Falla in the first round to record his first ATP main-draw win.
He followed that up with a three-set win over Michael Berrer, the eliminator of seventh
seed Robby Ginepri to advance to his first ATP quarterfinal.
He lost to Dmitry Tursunov, but Nishikori became the youngest player to reach the quarterfinals
at Indianapolis since Boris Becker, who went on to reach the semifinals in 1985.
In his third career ATP event, Nishikori defeated Teymuraz Gabashvili in the first round in
Washington, D.C., before falling to Julien Benneteau in the second.
He qualified for the ATP event in Beijing and lost in the first round to Ivan Ljubičić.
Nishikori received a wildcard to the ATP event in Tokyo, Japan, where he lost in the first
round to Zack Fleishman.
He participated in the draw ceremony in Tokyo and received the Tokyo Sports Writers Club
award.
Nishikori represented Japan at the Asian Hopman Cup 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand.
2008: First ATP title Nishikori started the year by reaching the
semifinals of the Miami challenger tournament.
He then entered the Delray Beach tournament as a qualifier ranked World No. 244.
He gained entrance to the main draw by defeating Nicolas Todero and Alex Bogomolov, Jr..
In the first round, he defeated Florian Mayer due to a retirement in the second set.
In the second round, Nishikori defeated Amer Delic, another qualifier.
In the quarterfinals, he won against Bobby Reynolds.
In the semifinals, he upset Sam Querrey.
In the final, Nishikiori upset top seed James Blake in three sets to become the first Japanese
man in nearly 16 years to win an ATP event.
He lost in the first round of the Miami Masters to the Spanish player Albert Montañés.
He faced James Blake again, this time at the River Oaks International tournament in Houston,
Texas in the first round, but Kei lost in two sets.
He went out in the third round of the 2008 Queen's Club Championships against Rafael
Nadal in just over two hours.
Facing the World No. 2, Nishikori played well in the match and showed promise.
His first Grand Slam appearance at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships on 23 June 2008 ended
in a first-round forfeiture to French player Marc Gicquel.
Suffering from an abdominal muscle strain, Nishikori retired after the second set.
In August, he entered the Beijing Olympics on a wildcard.
There, he lost in the first round to Rainer Schüttler of Germany.
Nishikori made his debut at the US Open, defeating 29th seeded Juan Mónaco in the first round.
He cruised to the third round, after downing Croatian Roko Karanušić.
On 30 August 2008, he became the first Japanese player to reach the round of 16 at the US
Open in 71 years, when he beat fourth seed David Ferrer in five sets in what was considered
one of the tournament's major upsets.
He lost his chance, however, to compete in the quarterfinals when he was beaten by 17th
seed Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets.
In the Japan Open Tennis Championships, he made it to the round of 16, before losing
to Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
Nishikori was given a wildcard for the Stockholm Open, where he made it to his second ATP level
semifinal of the year, despite playing with a knee injury.
He received a walkover in his quarterfinal match against Mario Ančić, who had to withdraw
due to illness.
In the semifinals, he was beaten by fourth seed Robin Söderling.
2009: Dissapointing injury season Nishikori made a disappointing start to the
season, losing to Jürgen Melzer in the first round of the Australian Open.
On 25 March, Nishikori was named 2008 ATP Newcomer of the Year and became the first
Asian player to win the award.
He withdrew from the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open because of an injured right
elbow.
2010 Kei made his comeback after his injury of
the previous year.
After receiving a wildcard at Delray Beach, he was beaten in the first round by Benjamin
Becker.
Kei returned to the Challenger tour later in April with great success, reaching quarterfinals
at both Baton Rouge and Tallahassee events, followed by a victory at the Savannah Challenger
over Ryan Sweeting in the final.
On 15 May 2010, he won the Sarasota open by defeating Brian Dabul, in three sets.
Nishikori played in his first French Open.
He rebounded from two sets down to defeat Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in the first
round but he lost his second match against Novak Djokovic.
He lost to Richard Gasquet in the first round of the 2010 Aegon Championships.
At Wimbledon, he played second seed Rafael Nadal in the first round and lost in three
sets.
At the U.S. Open, the Japanese No. 1 met Marin Čilić in the second round.
Nishikori ousted the 11th seed in 5 sets to advance to the third round, his best Grand
Slam tournament showing in 2010.
2011
Nishikori opened the season in Chennai, where he upset two-time defending champion Marin
Čilić in the first round, before falling in the quarterfinals to Janko Tipsarević.
In the 2011 Australian Open, Nishikori reached the third round, defeating Fabio Fognini and
Florian Mayer along the way.
His run was ended in the third round by ninth seed Fernando Verdasco.
After the third-round appearance in Melbourne, his ranking rose to No. 70.
At the first two ATP Masters Series events of the year, Nishikori suffered a first-round
loss at Indian Wells and a second-round loss in Miami.
Nishikori then reached his second final at the 2011 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships.
He was defeated by American wildcard Ryan Sweeting.
At Roland Garros, Nishikori lost in the second round to Sergiy Stakhovsky.
He faced Lleyton Hewitt in the first round at Wimbledon, but lost in four sets.
Nishikori then retired in his first-round match against Flavio Cipolla at the US Open.
At the Shangai Masters, Nishikori reached his first Masters 1000 semifinal.
He defeated Robin Haase, fourth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Santiago Giraldo, in the first
three rounds.
In the quarterfinals, Nishikori upset 12th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets.
He lost to No. 2 Andy Murray in his first Masters 1000 semifinal.
He reached a career-high of World No. 30.
In the Swiss Indoors Basel tournament Nishikori defeated an ailing World No. 1 Novak Djokovic
to reach the final, coming back from a 4–5, 0–30 deficit in the second set.
The win was only Djokovic's fourth loss of the season, second loss in a completed match,
and first loss of a completed match on a non-clay surface.
Nishikori was defeated in the final by Roger Federer.
On the heels of the victory, Nishikori was granted special exemption into the 2011 BNP
Paribas Masters and achieved a ranking of World No. 24.
2012: First Major quarterfinal & 2nd ATP title Nishikori started the season at the Brisbane
International, where he lost in the second round to Marcos Baghdatis.
At the 2012 Australian Open, Nishikori came back from a set down to defeat sixth seed
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, where he was then
defeated by fourth seed Andy Murray.
Nishikori was the first Japanese male player to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian
Open in 80 years.
Nishikori made it to the quarterfinals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships after
beating Belgian Olivier Rochus in three sets.
In the Summer Olympics, Nishikori lost to Argentina's Juan Martín del Potro in the
quarterfinals.
In Toronto, he lost his first match to Sam Querrey.
He did better in Cincinnati, making it to the third round before being defeated by Stanislas
Wawrinka, who ended up a semifinalist in the event.
Nishikori had also lost to Wawrinka in the quarterfinals in Buenos Aires in February.
On 7 October, eighth seed Nishikori won the Rakuten Japan Open in Tokyo against sixth
seed Milos Raonic of Canada in three sets to win his first ATP 500 series title and
second career ATP Tour title, lifting his world ranking from World No. 17 to a career-high
of World No. 15.
Nishikori's win was historic as he became the first Japanese man to win the Japan Open
in its 41-year history.
2013: 3rd ATP title
Nishikori started the year by playing the Brisbane International and reached the semifinals
before retiring to Andy Murray because of a knee injury.
Nishikori then reached the fourth round of the Australian Open before falling to fourth-seeded
David Ferrer.
Nishikori was bothered by a nagging knee injury throughout the match.
Nishikori then won his third career title in the U.S. National Indoor Championships
by defeating Feliciano López in straight sets.
Seeded fifth, Nishikori finished the tournament without dropping a set in taking the winner's
check, and moved up six ranking spots from No. 22 in the ATP rankings to No. 16.
On 9 May, Nishikori defeated defending champion Roger Federer at the Madrid Open in the third
round, but lost to Pablo Andujar in the quarters.
In 2013 U.S Open first round, Nishikori was stunned by world no.179 Daniel Evans in straight
sets.
As a result of this loss, his 6 grand slam third round streak was ended.
2014: 4th, 5th ATP titles & reaching top 10 Michael Chang became Kei Nishikori's coach
in 2014.
Nishikori made it to the fourth round in the Australian Open, losing to Rafael Nadal in
a tight 3-setter.
He defended his title at the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships in Memphis, defeating
Ivo Karlovic in the final.
He then played at the Masters 1000 event in Miami, where he was seeded 20th.
Nishikori saved four match points before defeating 4th seed David Ferrer and advanced to the
semifinals with a three-set win against 5th seed Roger Federer.
Because of a left groin injury, he gave 2nd seed Novak Djokovic a walkover in the semifinals.
He also withdrew from Japan's Davis Cup quarterfinal against the Czech Republic.
Nishikori returned to action at the end of April, in Barcelona, winning the final against
Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in two sets.
On 10 May Nishikori made history by making into the final of Madrid Open, his first masters-level
championship final.
The result saw him achieving a career-high #9 in ATP singles ranking.
Nishikori lost in the first round of the French open to Martin Klizan 6-7 1-6 2-6.
Nishikori bounded back from the French Open first round loss in the grass court season
by reaching the semifinals of the 2014 Gerry Weber Open before losing to Roger Federer
in straight sets.
Nishikori participated in the Wimbledon Championships and made it to the fourth round after surviving
a tight 5-setter to Simone Bolelli, but eventually lost in the fourth round to Milos Raonic,
despite winning the opening set.
Equipment Nishikori currently uses the Wilson BLX Steam
99 racquet and wears Uniqlo clothing and Adidas Barricade 8.0 shoes.
He is also sponsored by Nissin Foods and Tag Heuer.
He is often seen wearing a Cup Noodles badge on his sleeve during matches.
He also carries around a character called Mr Saturn from the popular video game Mother/
Earthbound.
Playing style Nishikori is an offensive baseline player,
known for his speed and footwork around the court.
His greatly improved semi-western forehand is a weapon from all areas of the court.
He uses his speed and agility to wear-down and outthink his opponent, and often likes
to create an open court with his forehand so he can hit a backhand down the line.
Significant finals Masters 1000 finals
Singles: 1 ATP career finals
Singles: 8 Singles performance timeline
Key Won tournament; or reached Final; Semifinal;
Quarter-final; Round 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a Round Robin stage; lost in Qualification
Round; absent from tournament event; played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group or Play-off; won
a bronze, silver or gold medal at the Olympics; a downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament;
or a tournament that was Not Held in a given year.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion
of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.
Current through the 2014 Wimbledon Championships.
Wins over top-10 players per season References
13.
http:www.japantimes.co.jp201415nishikori-confident-he-is-closer-to-date-with-destiny/ External links
Kei Nishikori at the Association of Tennis Professionals
ITF Tennis Kei Nishikori ATP DEUCE Magazine: Project 45 No Longer A
Secret Kei Nishikori Official Site
Kei Nishikori Official Facebook Fanpage