Kei Nishikori has won the US Open Final for 2014.
Smearing Cilic like so much hot butter on a pancake, Nishikori played the final like he had been there before. Clean back hand winners, crushing forehands and a with a steadiness that makes cool hand Luke look light a stammering fool, Nishikori has finally boken through.
Stunning world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in a U.S. Open semifinal on Saturday, his late-night romp against Milos Raonic with ended at 2:26 a.m. on Tuesday morning and his blistering win over Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori showed the world why he is the best player to ever win a grand slam under the name of Nishikori.
When Marin Cilic arrived properly on the tour by reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open four years ago, there were plenty of good judges who hailed him as the player to perhaps one day end the domination of the game by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Well, Novak Djokovic slipped in before him, followed by Andy Murray … and Cilic slid inexplicably into the shadows, never quite marshalling all his considerable resources once he had broken into the top 10.
In other words Cilic, now world No16 after a high of No9 and with a best grand-slam performance that saw him reach the semi-finals in Australia those four years ago, where he lost to one A Murray, is very much the underdog here. That said, he did do for the No6 seed, Tomas Berdych, in the quarters.
Background
Nishikori began playing tennis at the age of five and on July 17, 2007 he qualified for his first ATP main draw event at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, California at the age of 17. Though he lost in the first round, to Wesley Moodie, he emerged as a future star to watch on the ATP Tour. He is represented by IMG.
Nishikori lives in Florida, trains at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, and is coached by Glenn Weiner. His parents are Kiyoshi and Eri and he has a sister, Reina. His hobbies include soccer, golf, reading, and listening to music.CareerJuniorKei won the 2007 Luxilon Cup held at the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open by defeating Michael McClune.
Nishikori won the 2004 title at the Riad 21 Tournament in Rabat, Morocco and was a quarterfinalist at the 2006 Junior French Open. He partnered with Emiliano Massa of Argentina to win the 2006 Junior French Open.
Controversy
The U.S. Open has had its share of controversy. Such things as questionable rulings, provocative behaviour and groundbreaking actions in past U.S. Opens have created endless debate surrounding those matches. None of them include Nishikori or this final. The controversies I have in mind are about the past and the only relationship they have to Nishikori’s win at the US Open today is that these controversies also happened at the US Open.
One of those controversies included a fan altercation in 2010, a match in which Jimmy Connors rubbed out a ball mark on a clay court before a call could be reviewed in 1977, and a 2003 semifinal between Andy Roddick and David Nalbandian in which a fan called a ball out during the point, affecting play.
The biggest controversies typically surface when star players are involved, but that is not always the case.
Most tennis fans know that Rod Laver’s 7-9, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Tony Roche in the 1969 U.S. Open finals made him the first (and still only) player to complete two Grand Slams of all four majors.
However, some may not remember that it was a decision regarding footwear that played a major role in Laver capturing his fourth major title that year.
The U.S. Open was played on grass courts until 1975, and the 1969 men’s finals was postponed a day because of rain. Monday’s final was further delayed for 95 minutes because of the wet conditions, and a helicopter was brought in to hover over the stadium and help dry the grass courts, according to a Los Angeles Times report. Because of the weather and delays, only 3,708 spectators were on hand for the historic match.
Laver failed to hold serve at 5-3 of the first set, and was having trouble with his footing on the wet grass. After that ninth game, things changed because Laver put on spiked shoes.
In an excerpt from his autobiography The Education of a Tennis Player, as provided by World Tennis, Laver said that he had wanted to start the match with spikes, but referee Mike Gibson had refused. When Laver again asked permission to don the spikes after the ninth game, Gibson allowed it.
Gibson would not have granted permission if it had not been the finals, because the spikes tore up the grass court. Roche did not have a pair of spikes on hand, and may not have used them even if he did. In any case, Gibson’s decision to allow Laver to wear spikes was pivotal.
“It meant all the difference to me,” Laver said in his book.
Although Laver wound up losing the first set, he cruised through the next three sets against Roche, the only player who had a winning record against Laver in 1969.
You have to wonder whether Laver would have captured his second Grand Slam if Gibson had not allowed him to switch to the shoes that had 3/8-inch spikes. The other issue is whether Gibson should have allowed Laver to wear spikes.
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Nishikori might be a new face to many but the 24-year-old is a huge star in his home country, and is the 10th-highest earner in men’s tennis.
Nishikori v Cilic head-to-head |
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2008: Indian Wells (Hard) R128 Cilic won 6-2 6-4 |
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2010: US Open (Hard) R64 Nishikori won 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 |
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2011: Chennai (Hard) R32 Nishikori won 4-6 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 |
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2012: US Open (Hard) R32 Cilic won 6-3 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 |
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2013: Memphis (Hard) QF Nishikori won 6-4 6-2 |
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2014: Brisbane (Hard) QF Nishikori won 6-4 5-7 6-2 |
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2014: Barcelona (Clay) QF Nishikori won 6-1 6-3 |
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Total: Nishikori 5-2 Cilic |
Japan’s first Grand Slam singles finalist has long had lucrative sponsorship deals in place – they variously include sports equipment and fashion companies, a watch manufacturer and a brand of noodles.
He has also followed the trend of appointing high-profile coaches.
Former French Open champion Michael Chang took an interest in him when the pair played in an exhibition for earthquake relief in Tokyo three years ago, and last December took up coaching duties alongside Argentine Dante Bottini.
“It’s been really helpful,” said 10th seed Nishikori of Chang. “He’s been helping me a lot from the end of last year, also helping mentally.
“I feel my tennis is changing, a little more aggressive, and I’m playing with more confidence. He’s tough, but I sometimes needed something. Some people can push me well.”
