Nadal’s early exit aside the real story of the Shanghai Masters was the reemergence of Japan’s Kei Nishikori, with the Japanese youngster making his first appearance in the semi finals of a Masters 1000 event. He is a player who has promised much in the early stages of his career and would’ve been more prominent had it not been for a frustrating run of injuries.
He really made his mark on the ATP tour in 2008 as an 18 year old thanks to his incredible performance at the Delray Beach event. He came through qualifying to reach the final where he upset the top seed James Blake in 3 sets to claim his first ATP Tour level title.
His only other ATP final appearance was at the Houston Clay Court Championships in 2011 where he finished as runner up to another promising youngster Ryan Sweeting. His grand slam performances have been fairly disappointing in 2011 but he has really struggled to stay healthy for an extended period of time. He has cited a recurring back problem which could be largely to blame for his intermittent form, so hopefully he can find a resolution to the problem or find a way to play through it.
In terms of his style of play he doesn’t really have a trademark shot, relying on his amazing court speed and consistency from the baseline. He isn’t especially tall for a tennis professional at 1.78m, and personally I think he is a very similar player to David Ferrer or Gilles Simon.
An additional aspect which has perhaps held Nishikori back a little is a lack of confidence during the big points. I’ve seen him a few times looking in control of a match when something will go against him and he loses concentration for a few games. The signs are positive based on his performances this week though, with 3 tight matches which went the distance going in his favor.
The 2011-12 off season will be vital in the career of Nishikori if he intends to continue his rise up the rankings. He needs to spend a few months getting completely healthy and getting stronger if he wants to have a successful season. A lot of guys look good in spells but just aren’t able to last through the tough ATP calendar and it’s only the ones in peak physical condition who get near the top 10.
Kei Nishikori is just one of an exciting new generation of players, and it will be tough to stand out in a pack containing Milos Raonic, Ryan Sweeting and Grigor Dimitrov. But the Japanese has the natural ability and intelligence to get into the top 20 if he can stay fit, and should form an important part of what already looks like a fascinating 2012.
