Kei Nishikori

Kei Nishikori
錦織 圭

Kei Nishikori at the 2011 French Open
Full name	Kei Nishikori
Country (sports)	Japan
Residence	Bradenton, Florida, United States
Born	(1989-12-29) 29 December 1989 Matsue, Shimane, Japan
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro	2007
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$1,865,626
Singles
Career record	82-66 (in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 16 (March 19, 2012)
Current ranking	No. 17 (July 30, 2012)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (2012)
French Open	2R (2010, 2011)
Wimbledon	3R (2012)
US Open	4R (2008)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games	QF (2012)
Doubles
Career record	9-14 (in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 167 (March 19, 2012)
Current ranking	No. 294 (July 30, 2012)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	-
French Open	2R (2011)
Wimbledon	2R (2011)
US Open	-
Last updated on: August 2, 2012 by Asmazif.

Kei Nishikori (錦織 圭, Nishikori Kei) (born 29 December 1989 in Matsue, Shimane, Japan) is a Japanese tennis player, currently ranked World No. 17 as of July 30, 2012. 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, California at the age of 17. Nishikori's career-high singles ranking is World No. 16.

Career

Junior career

Nishikori won the 2004 title at the Riad 21 Tournament in Rabat, Morocco and was a quarterfinalist 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.

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, 6–4, 6–3, 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

Nishikori started the year by reaching the semifinals of the Miami challenger tournament. He then entered the Delray Beach tournament as a qualifier ranked 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, Nishikri 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, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, 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 4–6, 4–6. He went out in the third round of the 2008 Queen's Club Championships against Rafael Nadal, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6, 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, after winning the first set 6–4, but losing the second by 5–7. 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, 6–2, 6–2, 5–7, 6–2, 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, 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 2–6, 7–5, 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, 3–6, 4–6, 3–6.

In the Japan Open Tennis Championships, he made it to the round of 16, before losing to Frenchman Richard Gasquet 1–6, 2–6.

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, 1–6, 0–6.

2009

Nishikori made a disappointing start to the season, losing to Jürgen Melzer, 5–7, 2–6, 1–6, 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, 6–4, 6–0, in the final. On 15 May 2010, he won the Sarasota open by defeating Brian Dabul, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4.

Nishikori played in his first French Open. He rebounded from two sets down to defeat Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in the first round, 2–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–4, but he lost his second match against Novak Djokovic, 1–6, 4–6, 4–6. He lost to Richard Gasquet in the first round of the 2010 AEGON Championships, 3–6, 3–6. At Wimbledon, he played second seed Rafael Nadal in the first round and lost, 2–6, 4–6, 4–6,

At the U.S. Open, the Japanese no. 1 met Croatian Marin Čilić in the second round. Nishikori ousted the 11th seed, 5–7, 7–6, 3–6, 7–6, 6–1, to advance to the third round, his best Grand Slam showing in 2010.

2011

Nishikori at the 2011 Australian Open.

Nishikiori 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. In the first round, he defeated Fabio Fognini of Italy, 6–1, 6–4, 6–7, 6–4. He then ousted Florian Mayer of Germany in the second round, 6–4, 6–3, 0–6, 6–3. His run was ended in the third round by ninth seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain, 2–6, 4–6, 3–6. 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 in 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, 1–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–7. He faced Lleyton Hewitt in the first round at Wimbledon, but lost in four sets, 1–6, 6–7, 7–6, 3–6. Nishikori then retired in his first-round match against Flavio Cipolla at the US Open. At the 2011 Shanghai Masters, Nishikori reached his first Masters 1000 semifinal. In the second round, he defeated Robin Haase in three sets, after losing the first set 0–6. In the third round, Nishikiori scored the biggest upset of the tournament by defeating fourth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6–7, 6–4, 6–4. Nishikiori followed up that impressive performance with another three-set victory, this time over Santiago Giraldo, 7–6, 4–6, 6–3. In the quarterfinals, Nishikori upset 12th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3. 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 in three sets, 2–6, 7–6, 6–0, 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, who was about to embark on a major run of form that eventually saw him retake the Wimbledon title and world #1 spot. 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

Nishikori started the season at the Brisbane International, where he lost in the second round to Marcos Baghdatis. At the Australian Open, Nishikori came back from a set down to defeat number 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. Kei Nishikori made it to the quarterfinals in Hall of Fame Tennis championships after beating Olivier Rochus from Belgium 6–7 (6), 6–4, 6–2. In Summer olympics 2012 Kei Nishikori lost to Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in quarterfinal match 6-4, 7-6 (7/4.

Personal

Nishikori lives in Florida and trains at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. His parents are Kiyoshi and Eri, and he has a sister, Reina. His hobbies include football, golf, reading, and listening to music. He is represented by Olivier van Lindonk of IMG.
In the video game Grand Slam Tennis, Kei 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 academies Gilbert has also coached Andy Murray and former world no. 1s Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick.

Playing Style

Nishikori is well known for his speed and endurance during long matches. He uses a semi-western grip on his forehand and a combination of continental/semi-western for his backhand. His groundstrokes are equally solid with great depth. His serve is reliable but lacks power at times. Similar to David Ferrer and Guillermo Coria, he lacks a big weapon. However, like his two predecessors, a consistent serve and solid groudstrokes means he doesn't have any weakness either. His game is described as an offensive baseliner.

Equipment

Nishikori currently uses the Wilson BLX Steam Pro racquet and wears Uniqlo clothing and adidas Barricade 7.0 shoes. He is also sponsored by Nissin Foods. He is often seen wearing a Cup Noodles badge on his sleeve during matches.

ATP Career Finals

Singles: 3 (1–2)

Legend
Grand Slam (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–1)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (1–1)

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	February 11, 2008	Delray Beach, United States	Hard	James Blake	3–6, 6–1, 6–4
Runner-up	1.	April 10, 2011	Houston, United States	Clay	Ryan Sweeting	4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Runner-up	2.	November 6, 2011	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Roger Federer	1–6, 3–6

Singles Performance Timeline

Tournament	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	W–L	Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	A	A	1R	A	3R	QF	6–3	66.67
French Open	A	Q2	A	2R	2R	A	2–2	50.00
Wimbledon	A	1R	A	1R	1R	3R	2–4	33.33
US Open	Q2	4R	A	3R	1R		5–3	62.50
Win–Loss	0–0	3–2	0–1	3–3	3–4	6–2	15–12	54.17
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics	NH	1R	Not Held			QF	3–2	60.00
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells	A	1R	1R	A	1R	1R	0–4	00.00
Miami	A	1R	A	A	2R	4R	3–3	50.00
Monte Carlo	A	A	A	A	A	3R	2–1	66.66
Madrid	A	A	A	A	1R	A	0–1	00.00
Rome	A	A	A	A	Q2	A	0–0	00.00
Toronto/Montreal	LQ	A	A	A	A		0–0	00.00
Cincinnati	A	A	A	A	1R		0–1	00.00
Shanghai	NM1000		A	LQ	SF		4–1	80.00
Paris	A	A	A	A	1R		0–1	00.00
Win–Loss	0–0	0–2	0–1	0–0	6–6	4–3	9–12	42.86
Career Statistics
Titles–Finals	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	0–2	0–0	1–2	33.33
Year End Ranking	286	63	418	98	25		$1,624,295

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