AT THE age of 14 Kei Nishikori was identified as someone special among Japanese tennis players when he followed in the footsteps of champions such as Andre Agassi, Monica Seles and Maria Sharapova by leaving home to pursue his fortune in the sport. Yet nobody predicted that this small, shy player would one day become the first Asian male competitor to contest a Grand Slam final.
Nishikori did not just beat Novak Djokovic to win a place in tomorrow night’s US Open final, he completely mastered the world No 1 and Wimbledon champion. He did so in conditions so brutally hot and humid that a line of spectator casualties formed in the catacombs below New York’s Arthur Ashe stadium, waiting for attention at the first-aid post.
The 24-year-old Nishikori, born in Shimane but schooled in the art of tennis at Nick Bollettieri’s Florida academy, outplayed and outstayed the top seed 6-4 1-6 7-6 6-3 with power hitting that suggests timing, rather than size, is the most important factor. Now he will meet either Roger Federer or Marin Cilic, whose semi-final was delayed by a torrential rainstorm that hit Flushing Meadows five minutes after the Japanese left court.
Djokovic said: “He played some great tennis and I congratulate him for his effort, he was a better player than me. He wasn’t using forehand before as well as he does now. His backhand is very solid, really aggressive, he’s very quick so he gets a lot of balls back and uses every short ball to attack. Now he’s an all-round player.”
Boris Becker, Djokovic’s coach, said his player made “too many unforced errors, too many short balls, he invited Nishikori to go for the winners. The key was the third set, that’s where momentum shifted.”
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Nishikori, who stands just under 5ft 10in and weighs less than 11st, is only No 11 in the world rankings but already is one of the sport’s biggest earners because of the vibrant Japanese endorsement market. This victory, and the stardom that goes with it, will bring in millions more. According to Forbes magazine, Nishikori had amassed $10.5m this year before the US Open. In addition to a long-term deal with the Japanese clothing manufacturer Uniqlo, Nishikori has deals with brands such as Wilson rackets, Adidas shoes and Tag Heuer watches. In Japan he has deals with car makers, mobile phones firms, computer games and internet search engines. If he goes on to win this title he can expect to treble his off-court earnings.
For Nishikori, though, what happens on court matters most and in this respect he has become a phenomenon in the past two weeks. He is coached by a combination of Michael Chang, the American who won the French Open in 1989 at the age of 17, and Dante Bottini, an employee at the Bollettieri academy. His game is based on durability and great stamina, as well as uncanny hitting power. His 2hr 52min destruction of Djokovic was a relative sprint compared with his two previous matches, both of which extended to five sets.
He walked onto the sweltering court having already played 13hr 34min of tennis in 12 days. Those two five-setters were against the hard-hitting Canadian fifth seed, Milos Raonic (4hr 19min, finishing at 2.26am) and the reigning Australian Open champion, Stan Wawrinka (4hr 15min).
Djokovic, well rested after his late-night exertions in beating Andy Murray on Wednesday, had spent three and a half hours less in winning his five matches. He had lost to Nishikori in Basel when they last met but the Serb was favoured by the odds to win in straight sets.
Nishikori had other ideas.He took a little time to come to terms with playing the biggest match of his life before taking everything that Djokovic could throw at him. When the conditions tested the rivals’ fitness and resolve Nishikori proved himself dominant. In a third-set tiebreak he was cooler under pressure; then, as Djokovic wilted in the fourth, he took control.
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Bizarrely, Nishikori was unclear he would even play in New York little more than a fortnight ago. He needed surgery on a cyst on the big toe of his right foot and wondered whether he was fit enough to win a single round of the year’s concluding major.
He had the operation on Monday, August 11, in Charlotte, North Carolina after withdrawing from the two build-up Masters 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati. His last competitive outing was a lacklustre 6-1 6-4 exit from the Washington DC event against the Frenchman Richard Gasquet. At that point the US Open seemed to be too soon for him.
Momentum, though, is one of the greatest forces in tennis and after benefiting from Spaniard Pablo Andujar being forced to retire in the second round with an injured elbow, Nishikori found his stride.
Djokovic was slow out of the blocks in the first set but in the 30-minute second he seemed to be moving into commanding form. Nishikori appeared a man whose previous exertions had caught up with him.
In the third set, however, any suggestion of fatigue was batted away like one of his most powerful forehands. When Djokovic failed to break serve in a 12-minute game that featured seven deuces and four break points, he was the one who looked exhausted.
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He had prevailed against Murray because he was fitter and possessed greater stamina. But now the tables had turned dramatically and Djokovic appeared completely ineffectual against the Japanese as he slipped to a 4-0 deficit in the tiebreak.
The Serb’s serve was broken in the opening game of the fourth set and from that moment his fate was sealed. Nishikori seemed to grow stronger, unleashing his most powerful serve of the match, a 121mph ace, in the penultimate game. “I hope it’s big news in Japan,” he said in almost an embarrassed manner. “I feel the support but I know it is 4am in the morning over there. I just hope some people stayed up to watch me.”
By now he will be aware of just how big a story he is back in his homeland.