CONGRATULATIONS TO KEI NISHIKORI, FIRST JAPANESE MAN IN THE TOP 10 BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: on 9th May 2014
Tennis Mutua Madrid Open
CONGRATULATIONS TO KEI NISHIKORI, FIRST JAPANESE MAN IN THE TOP 10 BY RICKY DIMON

epa04199147 Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori returns the ball against Spanish Feliciano Lopez during their Mutua Open Madrid Masters 1000 tennis tournament's quarter final men's single match in Madrid, Spain, 09 May 2014. EPA/ALBERTO MARTIN  |

Kei Nishikori will become the first Japanese player in the history of the ATP World Tour to be ranked in the Top 10 when next week’s rankings are revealed.

 

Heading into Friday, two things needed to happen in order for Nishikori to clinch the historic feat: he had to beat Feliciano Lopez and could not have Ernests Gulbis win the title. The latter was assured when Gulbis lost to David Ferrer 7-6(3), 6-3 earlier in the evening and Nishikori took care of his end of the bargain with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Lopez in the nightcap.

 

The 10th seeded held all 10 of his service games to advance in one hour and 30 minutes.

 

A red-hot Nishikori is an incredible 26-4 on the season. His current 13-match winning streak includes a clay-court title in Barcelona and a semifinal finish in Miami. Nishikori had to withdraw from Miami due to injury ahead of scheduled showdown with Novak Djokovic, so he has not lost a single match since falling to Tommy Haas in the Indian Wells third round. He currently registers at 12th in the world and will soon surpass his career-best mark of No. 11, which he reached in June of 2013.

 

“It was a big goal for me to get in Top 10,” Nishikori commented. “I have to keep playing better tennis and keep this ranking.”

 

While making history of his own, Nishikori also prevented a different kind of historical accomplishment. Madrid was one match away from producing an all-Spanish semifinal lineup for what would have been the first time ever in Masters 1000 competition. Prior to Ferrer’s win over Gulbis, fellow Spaniards Roberto Bautista Agut and Rafael Nadal scored respective victories over Santiago Giraldo and Tomas Berdych. As a result of Lopez’s setback, however, the host nation will have to settle for three of four.

 

Saturday’s semis will pit Nadal against Bautista Agut and Ferrer against Nishikori.

Topics: , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.