Despite Political Turmoil, Nishikori Will Play Shanghai

Written by: Staff on 21st September 2012

Despite Political Turmoil, Nishikori Will Play Shanghai

epa03378971 Kei Nishikori of Japan hits a return to Marin Cilic of Croatia during their match on the sixth day of the 2012 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 01 September 2012. The US Open runs through Sunday 09 September 2012. EPA/JUSTIN LANE |

The ongoing political stand-off between Japan and China will not prevent world no.17 Kei Nishikori from contesting the upcoming Shanghai Rolex Masters.

Japan’s Olympic silver medalist table tennis player Kasumi Ishikawa was recently prevented from playing in this week’s World Championships in Huanghshi as relations between the two Asian nations descended to their lowest point in more than 70 years after a row over the uninhabited but still disputed Senkaku or Diaoyu Islands in the South China Sea.

Badminton players and race cyclists from Japan have also been affected and the the dispute has caused anti-Japanese protests in some of China’s major cities. However Nishikori, who has a lot of ranking points to defend after reaching last year’s semi-finals in Shanghai, maintains he is undeterred and will head for the tournament.

“I don’t want to get too much into it as my job is playing tennis and doing my best on the court,” said Nishikori who is Japan’s highest ranked player in the history of the ATP World Tour. “Anything can happen, but hopefully not.”

Relations are tense at the moment following much play being made of the 80^th anniversary of Japan’s occupation of China in 1931. The row escalated earlier this week after two Japanese activists landed on one of the islands with Beijing describing the move as provocative. China complained to Tokyo and said it reserved the right to take further action.

Chinese organizers of the table tennis event could not guarantee Ishikawa’s safety and Nishikori said: “She is my friend too actually, it is a little bit sad because she loves ping pong and for me, I love playing tennis.”

However Nishikori sees the importance of protecting his place in the world’s top 20 and the 23 year-old, who bases himself at the IMG Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Florida said: “My job is playing tennis. I played well in Shanghai last year and it was the first time I made the semis of a Masters event. It was my dream tournament and the people were very nice.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Japanese tennis news, Kei Nishikori, Shnghai tennis Rolex Masters, Sports, Tennis News