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.

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