Kei Nishikori (Photo : Twitter)
Kei Nishikori will start the US Open ranked no.4 in the ATP rankings. Last year, he was a giant slayer who took down World no.1 Novak Djokovic.
Now, he's back in the same tournament where he garnered his monumental success. This time, he is not a giant slayer anymore, but himself a contender.
One of the major factors behind his continued success from last year is Michael Chang, the former French Open champion in 1989 who also became World No.2. He is now part of Nishikori's team.
"Kei is a very reasonable guy who's probably very willing to listen to Michael," explains Tennis Channel columnist Steve Flink, speaking to The Guardian. "I get the feeling [Michael] is very forceful with him, in a good way, and that Nishikori has great respect for him."
The Japanese explains why he took the Asian American into his team: "I think it's a great matchup with me and Michael, because we play kind of similar tennis, and we have [the] same height," Nishikori said after he dispatched John Isner to take the Citi Open title. "Mentally, he was really tough. [There's] so, so many things to learn from him. He has a lot of experience, and for sure, he's helping my game right now, and my ranking is one of the highest right now."
Now, Nishikori talks about his game plan for the next US Open, but not without lessons learned from last year: "Part of me thinks that it was a good thing I lost (last year's U.S. Open final)," Nishikori told Japan Times. "It fueled my hunger, and I did well at the end of the season. My bitterness was a springboard for me this year."
"I've been able to play with confidence in my serve and strokes. Particularly in Montreal, I played ideal tennis in my wins against (Belgian David) Goffin and Nadal," the Japanese shares his strengths, specifically in the past month's tournaments.
"But this is a new U.S. Open. Because a Grand Slam is a long fight, I want to play relaxed and take each match as it comes."
The Grand Slam is certainly a different level than any other tournament, one that Nishikori hopes to conquer. After a Finals appearance, will he make it all the way this time?
