NEW YORK (Kyodo) -- Japan's Kei Nishikori won a marathon match against
Canadian Milos Raonic in the fourth round to reach the quarterfinals of
the U.S. Open on Monday.
No. 10 seed Nishikori overcame 35 aces from the fifth seeded Raonic to beat his opponent 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4 in a match that lasted more than four hours at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"This was match that I couldn't lose focus for one second," said Nishikori, who had 53 winners to Raonic's 86.
He became the first Japanese player in 92 years to reach the final eight in the men's singles tournament since Zenzo Shimizu accomplished the feat in 1922. It was Nishikori's second time to make the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam.
The Japanese ace, who reached the final eight at the Australian Open two years ago, next faces No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland.
"I am happy that I could set this record. My next opponent (Wawrinka) is very strong. I'll do my best to win," Nishikori said.
Nishikori, who became the first Japanese player to break the top 10 when he was ranked a career ninth in May, has just returned from a month's layoff due to an injury to his right big toe.
September 02, 2014(Mainichi Japan)
【ニューヨーク田中義郎】第１０日は３日、当地のビリー・ジーン・キング・ナショナル・テニスセンターで行われ、男子シングルス準々決勝で第１０シードの錦織圭（日清食品）が第３シード、スタニスラス・ワウリンカ（スイス）を３−６、７−５、７−６、６−７、６−４のフルセットの末に破った。錦織は日本勢では１９１８年の熊谷一弥以来９６年ぶりの４強入りを果たした。
That'll happen after playing more than 8 1/2 hours of tennis in two Grand Slam matches separated by about a day and a half. Nishikori did not mind, because he knew he made history. He became the first man from Japan to reach the U.S. Open semifinals in 96 years, outlasting third-seeded Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 6-7 (5), 6-4 on Wednesday.
"I hope," Nishikori said, "it's big news in Japan."
On Wednesday against the Australian Open champion, Nishikori said, "I started a little bit tight."
"But my body was OK," he added. "I don't know how I finished ... but I'm very happy."
At least now he gets some time to recover. The semifinals are not until Saturday, when Nishikori will face No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who beat No. 8 Andy Murray 7-6 (1), 6-7 (1), 6-2, 6-4.
"Hopefully I can play 100 percent tennis next round," Nishikori said.
The last Japanese semifinalist at the U.S. Open was Ichiya Kumagae in 1918. No man from the country had made it to the final four at any major tournament since Jiri Satoh at Wimbledon in 1933.
Nishikori already was the first Japanese man to be ranked in the ATP's top 10 after climbing to No. 9 in May. He came into the U.S. Open without a lot of proper preparation, because he was sidelined after having a cyst removed from his right foot in early August.
Nishikori, who is coached by 1989 French Open champion Michael Chang, had never eliminated top-10 opponents in consecutive matches at a major tournament. The fourth-round marathon win against No. 5 Milos Raonic put Nishikori in his second career Grand Slam quarterfinal; he lost in that round at the 2012 Australian Open.
Wawrinka had won 15 of his last 16 hard-court Grand Slam matches, a stretch that includes a run to his first major semifinal at last year's U.S. Open and his first Grand Slam championship at the Australian Open.
He also had a lot less wear-and-tear on his body over the past 1 1/2 weeks, thanks in part to getting a walkover when the man he was supposed to play in the third round withdrew with an injury.
But in the end, it was Wawrinka who faltered down the stretch, getting broken to close the match when he slapped a forehand into the net. Nishikori did not really celebrate much, simply looking to the sky as he walked to the net. Chang leaped to his feet and pumped his fists in the stands.
Nishikori credited Chang with helping the mental side of his game and said the coach congratulated him on getting to the semifinals.
"But," Nishikori noted, "he also (said): 'It's not done.'"
While the 24-year-old Nishikori put on a brave face before facing Wawrinka, saying he expected to be fine, things did not appear to be OK in the early going. Between points, Nishikori would shake his arms or legs, or flex his hands. During a changeover, he placed a bag of ice on his forehead.
"From outside he looks really dead," Wawrinka said, "but we know on the court he can play."
September 04, 2014(Mainichi Japan)
【ニューヨーク＝西村海】テニスの四大大会今季最終戦、全米オープンは３日、ニューヨークのビリー・ジーン・キング・ナショナル・テニスセンターで行われ、男子シングルス準々決勝で第１０シードの
全米で日本男子がシングルス準決勝に進むのは、１９１８年の熊谷
The 24-year-old stunned top-ranked Novak Djokovic 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in stifling heat Saturday at the U.S. Open to become the first man from Asia to reach a Grand Slam singles final.
"Very happy to make history," he said.
Nishikori had played five-set marathons in his last two matches totaling more than 8 1/2 hours, yet he looked far fresher than a player known as one of the fittest on tour.
"He just played better in these conditions than I did," Djokovic said.
Under coach Michael Chang, the 1989 French Open champ, Nishikori has sharpened his mental game to pull out victories like these.
"He's matured a lot mentally here," Chang said.
Chang is a "tough" coach, Nishikori said.
"But I sometimes needed something," he added. "Some people can push me well, and it's been working really well."
The 10th-seeded Nishikori will face Roger Federer or Marin Cilic in Monday's title match.
Earlier, the midday sun beat down on Arthur Ashe Stadium and a thermometer on court showed the temperature nearing 100 degrees (37 Celsius), not counting the humidity of close to 70 percent. Nishikori closed this one out in 2 hours, 52 minutes.
Djokovic, who had reached the last four U.S. Open finals, outlasted two-time major champ Andy Murray in four long, tough sets in the quarters. But he never looked comfortable Saturday and spent much of the match scrambling around the court as Nishikori dictated points.
"Just wasn't myself," Djokovic said.
In the third-set tiebreaker, Djokovic had four unforced errors and a double-fault. Nishikori then broke to open the final set, and Djokovic wasted three break points in the next game.
Nishikori converted 5 of 7 break points, while Djokovic was just 4 for 13.
"Other than that second set, my game today was not even close to what I wanted it to be," Djokovic said. "A lot of unforced errors, a lot of short balls."
Chang, the New Jersey-born son of Taiwanese immigrants, knows a thing or two about groundbreaking victories. At age 17, he became the youngest man to win a Grand Slam title when he upset Ivan Lendl and Stefan Edberg (now Federer's coach) at Roland Garros.
"I will continue to remind him tomorrow: The work's not done," Chang said. "We've got one more match to go. And we'll prepare as best we can."
A severely infected right big toe forced Nishikori to miss tuneup events before the U.S. Open, and he feared that his lack of conditioning would make for a short stay at Flushing Meadows. Instead, he keeps sticking around - on the court and in the tournament.
"I didn't even know if I should come to New York, so I was expecting nothing, actually," he said. "But after playing first match and second match, I get more confidence on my foot."
He added with a grin: "I may have to rest three weeks before the (next) Grand Slam."
September 07, 2014(Mainichi Japan)
The New York Times
By MARTIN FACKLERSEPT. 7, 2014
TOKYO — Kei Nishikori is the first Japanese man to reach a Grand
Slam singles final, but in Japan he is seen as a most un-Japanese sports hero.
In 2004, as an eighth grader with limited English abilities, he left
his sleepy hometown, Matsue, on Japan’s rural backside to go to the United
States to train at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., one of the world’s most
competitive programs for grooming young tennis stars. Most of the handful of
Japanese players who had studied there before him did not last long in the
hypercompetitive program, but Nishikori thrived, staying until he turned pro in
2007.
Since then, Nishikori, 24, has become known for an aggressive style
of play, with a leaping forehand shot that, while not uncommon among tennis
players abroad, is so rare among his more earthbound Japanese peers that he has
been given the nickname Air K.
To many in Japan, most unusual of all is that his parents, neither
of whom played tennis as anything more than a hobby, gave Nishikori the freedom
to pursue dreams that might have seemed outlandish.
In a country where youth sports programs are known for rigid
conformity, Nishikori is revered as the superstar who dared from a young age to
do things differently. Now, as Japan celebrates its newest sports hero, many
tennis writers say the secret to Nishikori’s success is his unorthodox path.
Nishikori, who beat Novak Djokovic in the United States Open
semifinals and will face Marin Cilic on Monday, has drawn special attention for
his decision to leave Japan, where he was a rising star, at a time when there
was much hand wringing about the declining number of Japanese youth showing the
ambition to study abroad.
“Japanese tennis players have not had much success because their
sense of individuality is weak when compared with players from overseas,”
Kiyoshi Nishikori was quoted as saying in the book “Fly, Kei Nishikori!”
Arriving in the United States as an eighth grader, Kei Nishikori —
who was 14 at the time, according to his website — entered IMG, which had
become known as a star factory for producing players like Andre Agassi and
Maria Sharapova.
“I was worried at first because Kei was so shy,” Morita said in an
earlier interview published on the website ProTennis Game. “But surprisingly,
he seemed better suited to life over there,” he added, referring to the United
States.
Kiyoshi Nishikori gets much of the credit for laying the foundation
for his son’s success.
Kei Nishikori’s love of tennis started at age 5, when his father
brought back a children’s racket from a business trip to Hawaii. Nishikori took
to the sport right away and was soon hitting balls against a wall at home with
such ease that his parents enrolled him in a local tennis school at age 6.
The school’s coach, Masaki Kashiwai, said in a recent interview with
the newspaper Nikkan Sports that he was impressed by the accuracy of
Nishikori’s serve.
“He had ball control that only one player in 100 has and a knack for
the game that only one in 100 has,” Kashiwai said. “So together, he was a one
in 10,000 player.”
Kashiwai said that in elementary school, Nishikori frequently
challenged and defeated older boys. His drive to succeed also impressed Dai
Kawakami, the owner of a cram school in Matsue. Nishikori visited the school
with his mother when he was 7 and told Kawakami that he wanted to study English
so he could one day play tennis overseas, Kawakami said.
The boy’s determination led Kawakami to start a course for young
children at his school, which until then had taught only high-school-level
classes.
“Most children who want to be tennis players just play tennis,”
Kawakami said in a phone interview. “Kei was different. He knew he needed to
study English.”
Nishikori’s father spent weekends and holidays driving his son to a
small tennis club not far from Kei’s grandparents’ home.
The club had just three courts, which are now called Court A, B and
K — the last to honor Nishikori. One of the rackets Nishikori used as a student
is now on display.
In a news program by the national broadcaster NHK, a staff worker at
the club said Nishikori ran up and down a nearby flight of 41 stone steps to
get in shape. He said Nishikori was tireless in his training.
Nishikori’s parents — his mother, Eri, is a piano teacher — have
gotten credit from the Japanese news media for giving him the freedom to pursue
his interests and not forcing him to spend his free time studying for junior
high school and high school entrance exams.
Still, Nishikori told reporters at the U.S. Open on Saturday that
while he also played baseball and soccer as a child, he was glad he could help
tennis grow.
The United States “has a lot of respect for the sports,” he said,
“but not as much in Japan. I hope I can make a little bit difference.”
Nishikori acknowledged that the time difference would make it
difficult for his countrymen to watch the Open final. But, he added, he got
plenty of messages after his semifinal victory, “even if it’s 4 a.m.,” and said
he hoped a lot of people would watch his match.
“I hope I can win and to make another history,” he said.