Kei Nishikori
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 player, currently ranked 25th in the world, as of 10 October 2011. He began playing tennis at the age of five, and on 17 July 2007 he qualified for his first ATP
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...

 main draw event at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 at the age of 17.

Junior career

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
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 to win the 2006 Junior French Open. Nishikori won the 2007 Luxilon Cup held at the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open by defeating Michael McClune
Michael McClune
Michael McClune is an American professional tennis player.He turned professional in 2007, is represented by Olivier van Lindonk of IMG, and signed a lucrative contract with Nike.-Junior career:...

.

2006

Nishikori qualified and won the title at the ITF
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...

 Futures event in Mazatlán
Mazatlán
Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning...

, Mexico. He began the year by receiving a wildcard to the Kyoto Challenger in Kyoto, Japan.

2007

A finalist in two USTA Pro Circuit events, Nishikori lost to Donald Young in Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

 and Alex Bogomolov, Jr.
Alex Bogomolov, Jr.
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bogomolov, most known as Alex Bogomolov Jr. , nicknamed Bogie, is a Russian professional tennis player.-Tennis career:...

 in Carson, California
Carson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, Carson had a total population of 91,714. Located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles away from the Los Angeles International Airport, it is known as a suburb of the city....

. He partnered with Donald Young to win the doubles title at Little Rock. He paired with triple-French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten
Gustavo Kuerten
Gustavo Kuerten is a retired former World No. 1 tennis player from Brazil. He won the French Open three times between 1997 and 2001, and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000...

 at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

, where they lost in the first round. Nishikori served as a hitting partner for Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...

 at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...

. After his ATP
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...

 main draw debut in Los Angeles, he qualified for the Indianapolis Tennis Championships in July 2007. He beat Alejandro Falla
Alejandro Falla
Alejandro Falla Ramirez is a professional male tennis player from Colombia. He turned pro in 2000, plays left-handed, weighs 169 lb and measures 6'1" . At the 2006 Wimbledon tournament, Falla upset 9th seed Nikolay Davydenko and at the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open he beat 9th seed Tommy Haas in...

 in the first round, 6–4, 6–3, to record his first ATP main-draw win. He followed that up with a three-set win over Michael Berrer
Michael Berrer
Michael Berrer is a German professional tennis player. He reached his career high in singles with No. 42 on May 2010 and his high in doubles in March 2009 with No...

, the eliminator of seventh seed Robby Ginepri
Robby Ginepri
Robert Louis Ginepri is an American professional tennis player.-Early life:Robby Ginepri is of Luxembourgish ancestry....

 to advance to his first ATP quarterfinal. He lost to Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov is a Russian professional male tennis player. He was 12 years old when he came to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player....

, but Nishikori became the youngest player to reach the quarterfinals at Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

 since Boris Becker
Boris Becker
Boris Franz Becker is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17...

, who went on to reach the semifinals in 1985. In his third career ATP event, Nishikori defeated Teymuraz Gabashvili in the first round in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, before falling to Julien Benneteau
Julien Benneteau
Julien Benneteau is a professional male tennis player from France. His career-best singles ranking is ATP world no. 32, which he reached in July 2010. He formerly resided in Boulogne Billancourt and now lives in Geneva...

 in the second. He qualified for the ATP event in Beijing and lost in the first round to Ivan Ljubičić
Ivan Ljubicic
----Ivan Ljubičić is a Croatian tennis player born in Bosnia and Herzegovina . His career-high ATP ranking to date has been no. 3, and he stands at no. 37....

. Nishikori received a wildcard to the ATP event in Tokyo, Japan, where he lost in the first round to Zack Fleishman
Zack Fleishman
Zachary Rodin "Zack" Fleishman is a right-handed professional tennis player from the United States.-Tennis career:Fleishman began playing tennis at the age of 8....

. He participated in the draw ceremony in Tokyo and received the Tokyo Sports Writers Club award. Nishikori represented Japan at the Asian Hopman Cup 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand.

2008

Nishikori started the year by reaching the semifinals of the Miami challenger tournament. He then entered the Delray Beach tournament
2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
The 2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...

 as a qualifier ranked no. 244. He gained entrance to the main draw by defeating Nicolas Todero and Alex Bogomolov Jr. In the first round, he defeated Florian Mayer
Florian Mayer
Florian Mayer is a German professional tennis player. He plays on both the ATP Tour and the Challenger Tour. He has won nine Challenger events, which has helped him stay in the top 50 on the rankings....

 due to a retirement in the second set. In the second round, Nishikri defeated Amer Delic
Amer Delic
Amer Delić is a Bosnian tennis player. Representing the United States as a tour player until 2009, he now represents the country of his birth, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is a member of its Davis Cup team....

, another qualifier. In the quarterfinals, he won against Bobby Reynolds
Bobby Reynolds
----Robert "Bobby" Thomas Reynolds in Cape Cod, Massachusetts) is an American professional tennis player who resides in Acworth, Georgia.-Professional career:...

. In the semifinals, he upset Sam Querrey
Sam Querrey
Sam Austin Querrey is a professional American tennis player from Thousand Oaks, California currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada. As of August 2010, he is the fourth-highest ranked American. His career high rank was #17, achieved on January 31, 2011. His height allows him to play with a strong...

. In the final, Nishikiori upset top seed James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...

 in three sets, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, to become the first Japanese man in nearly 16 years to win an ATP event. He lost in the first round of the Miami Masters
2008 Miami Masters - Men's Singles
Novak Djokovic was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to Kevin Anderson.Nikolay Davydenko won in the final 6–4, 6–2, against Rafael Nadal.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Roger Federer ...

 to the Spanish player Albert Montañés
Álbert Montañés
Albert Montañés Roca is a professional tennis player from Spain.He first entered the top-100 in 2001 and has been in the top-100 for all but 20 weeks since then...

. He faced James Blake again, this time at the River Oaks International tournament in Houston, Texas in the first round, but Kei lost, 4–6, 4–6. He went out in the third round of the 2008 Queen's Club Championships
Queen's Club Championships
The Queen's Club Championships is an annual tournament for male tennis players, held on grass courts at the Queen's Club in West Kensington, London. Between 1970 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit. The event is now an ATP World Tour 250 series tournament on the Association of...

 against Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...

, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6, in just over two hours. Facing the world no. 2, Nishikori played well in the match and showed promise. His first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...

 appearance at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships
2008 Wimbledon Championships
The 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...

 on 23 June 2008 ended in a first-round forfeiture to French player Marc Gicquel
Marc Gicquel
Marc Gicquel is a professional male tennis player from France. He turned pro in 1999.-Tennis career:...

. Suffering from an abdominal muscle strain, Nishikori retired after the second set, after winning the first set 6–4, but losing the second by 5–7. In August, he entered the Beijing Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 on a wildcard. There, he lost in the first round to Rainer Schüttler
Rainer Schüttler
Rainer Schüttler is a German professional tennis player, ranked World No. 113 in the ATP rankings. He is the last German player who reached a final in a grand slam tournament....

 of Germany.

Nishikori made his debut at the US Open defeating 29th seeded Juan Mónaco
Juan Mónaco
Juan Mónaco , nicknamed "Pico", is a male tennis player from Argentina. He reached a career-high ranking of World No. 14 on February 4, 2008. He is sponsored by Adidas and Yonex.-Biography:...

, 6–2, 6–2, 5–7, 6–2, in the first round. He cruised to the third round, after downing Croatian Roko Karanušić
Roko Karanušic
Roko Karanušić is a Croatian professional tennis player. He turned pro in 2000, and his career high was on February 2, 2009, when he reached No. 88 in the ATP rankings.-Singles Titles:...

. On 30 August 2008, he became the first Japanese player to reach the round of 16 at the US Open in 71 years, when he beat fourth seed David Ferrer
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...

 in five sets, 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 2–6, 7–5 in what was considered one of the tournaments major upsets. He lost his chance, however, to compete in the quarterfinals when he was beaten by 17th seed Juan Martín del Potro
Juan Martin Del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...

 in straight sets, 3–6, 4–6, 3–6.

In the Japan Open Tennis Championships
Japan Open Tennis Championships
The Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships is a tennis tournament held in Ariake Tennis Forest Park with its center court Ariake Coliseum, located in Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan. The championship includes both men's and women's, as well as singles and doubles competitions...

, he made it to the round of 16, before losing to Frenchman Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet is a French professional tennis player. He won the mixed doubles Grand Slam title at the 2004 French Open, partnering Tatiana Golovin. His highest ranking in singles is #7. His best achievements in tennis are reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2007 and later that year...

, 1–6, 2–6.

Nishikori was handed a wildcard for the Stockholm Open
Stockholm Open
The If Stockholm Open is a tennis event on the ATP Tour held in Stockholm, Sweden in the end of October or beginning of November each year. The organizer of the tournament is The Royal Lawn Tennis Club of Stockholm....

, where he made it to his second ATP level semifinal of the year, despite playing with a knee injury. He received a walkover in his quarterfinals against Mario Ančić
Mario Ancic
Mario Ančić is a retired Croatian professional tennis player. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles. His highest international ranking came during the 2006 ATP Tour, when he reached no. 7 in singles...

, who had to withdraw due to illness. In the semifinals he was beaten by fourth seed Robin Söderling
Robin Söderling
Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...

, 1–6, 0–6.

2009

Nishikori made a disappointing start to the season, losing to Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer is an Austrian tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking of no. 8 on 18 April 2011, and a doubles ranking of no. 6 on 13 September 2010. He is the only current player on the ATP Tour to be ranked in the top 10 in both singles and doubles. He is a left-handed tennis player, but...

, 5–7, 2–6, 1–6, in the first round of the Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...

. On 25 March, Nishikori was named 2008 ATP Newcomer of the Year and became the first Asian player to win the award. He withdrew from the French Open, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...

, and the US Open because of an injured right elbow.

2010

Kei made his comeback after his injury of the previous year. After receiving a wildcard at Delray Beach, he was beaten in the first round by Benjamin Becker
Benjamin Becker
Benjamin Becker is a German professional tennis player. Becker's primary weapon is a very big serve that he can hit at up to 220km/h, along with powerful groundstrokes....

. Kei returned to the Challenger tour later in April with great success reaching quarterfinals at both Baton Rouge and Tallahassee events, followed by a victory at the Savannah Challenger over Ryan Sweeting
Ryan Sweeting
Ryan Sweeting is a Bahamian-born American professional tennis player.-Tennis career:Sweeting was born in Nassau, Bahamas, and has lived and trained in Ft. Lauderdale since the age of 12...

, 6–4, 6–0, in the final. On 15 May 2010, he won the Sarasota open by defeating Brian Dabul
Brian Dabul
Brian Dabul is a professional tennis player.-Juniors career:Dabul was an outstanding player in juniors tennis, reaching #1 in the world in January, 2002.-2003 to 2007:...

, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4.

Nishikori played in his first French Open in 2010. He rebounded from two sets down to defeat Santiago Giraldo
Santiago Giraldo
Santiago Giraldo Salazar is a Colombian male tennis player from Pereira in Colombia. He plays on the ATP tour and represents Colombia in the Davis Cup competition.-ATP Tour:...

 of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 in the first round, 2–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–4, but he lost his second match against Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...

, 1–6, 4–6, 4–6. He lost to Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet is a French professional tennis player. He won the mixed doubles Grand Slam title at the 2004 French Open, partnering Tatiana Golovin. His highest ranking in singles is #7. His best achievements in tennis are reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2007 and later that year...

 in the first round of the 2010 AEGON Championships
2010 AEGON Championships
The 2010 AEGON Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 39th edition of the AEGON Championships and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2010 ATP World Tour. It took place at the Queen's Club in London, United Kingdom, from June 7 through June 13,...

, 3–6,3–6. At Wimbledon, he played second seed Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...

 in the first round and lost, 2–6, 4–6, 4–6,

At the U.S. Open, the Japanese no. 1 met Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n Marin Čilić
Marin Cilic
Marin Čilić , is a Croatian professional tennis player. His career high ATP ranking is no. 9, achieved on 22 February 2010, following his best-ever performance at a Grand Slam, reaching the semi-finals in the 2010 Australian Open...

 in the second round. Nishikori ousted the 11th seed, 5–7, 7–6, 3–6, 7–6, 6–1, to advance to the third round, thus far his best Grand Slam showing.

2011

Nishikiori opened the season in Chennai
2011 Aircel Chennai Open
The 2011 Aircel Chennai Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Chennai Open, and part of the 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour. It took place at the SDAT Tennis Stadium in Chennai, India, from January 3 through January 9, 2011.-Seeds:*...

, where he upset two-time defending champion Marin Čilić
Marin Cilic
Marin Čilić , is a Croatian professional tennis player. His career high ATP ranking is no. 9, achieved on 22 February 2010, following his best-ever performance at a Grand Slam, reaching the semi-finals in the 2010 Australian Open...

 in the first round, before falling in the quarterfinals to Janko Tipsarević
Janko Tipsarevic
Janko Tipsarević is a Serbian tennis player. His career-high ranking is No. 9, achieved on 14 November 2011. He is the 117th player in history to crack the top 10....

. In the 2011 Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...

, Nishikori reached the third round. In the first round, he defeated Fabio Fognini
Fabio Fognini
Fabio Fognini is a professional tennis player.He is the current Italian No. 1. He achieved his career high rank of No. 32 in the world on 20 June 2011 as a result of his success at the 2011French Open...

 of Italy, 6–1, 6–4, 6–7, 6–4. He then ousted Florian Mayer
Florian Mayer
Florian Mayer is a German professional tennis player. He plays on both the ATP Tour and the Challenger Tour. He has won nine Challenger events, which has helped him stay in the top 50 on the rankings....

 of Germany in the second round, 6–4, 6–3, 0–6, 6–3. His run was ended in the third round by ninth seed Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight...

 of Spain, 2–6, 4–6, 3–6. After the third-round appearance in Melbourne, his ranking rose to no. 70. At the first two ATP Masters Series
ATP Masters Series
The ATP Masters Series was a series of nine tennis tournaments that formed part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America...

 events of the year, Nishikori suffered a first-round loss in Indian Wells and a second round loss in Miami. Nishikori then reached his second final at the 2011 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
2011 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
The 2011 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 43rd edition of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, and was an ATP World Tour 250 event...

. He was defeated by American wildcard Ryan Sweeting
Ryan Sweeting
Ryan Sweeting is a Bahamian-born American professional tennis player.-Tennis career:Sweeting was born in Nassau, Bahamas, and has lived and trained in Ft. Lauderdale since the age of 12...

. At Roland Garros
2011 French Open – Men's Singles
Rafael Nadal, the defending champion and, after this tournament, six-time winner of this event defended his title by beating long-time rival Roger Federer for his sixth French Open title, tying him with Björn Borg for most all-time in the open era. Notably, the Spaniard played his first ever...

, Nishikori lost in the second round to Sergiy Stakhovsky
Sergiy Stakhovsky
Sergiy Stakhovsky is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. Stakhovsky turned professional in 2003 and had been playing mostly at the Challenger level from 2005–2008. His career high in singles of #31 and his high of #86 in doubles...

, 1–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–7. He faced Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...

 in the first round at Wimbledon
2011 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles
Rafael Nadal was the defending champion but lost to Novak Djokovic in the final.Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title. Upon reaching the final, he gained the World No.1 ranking as a result. This marks the first time that neither Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal is ranked No...

, but lost in four sets, 1–6, 6–7, 7–6, 3–6. Nishikori then retired in his first-round match against Flavio Cipolla
Flavio Cipolla
Flavio Cipolla is a professional tennis player on the ATP Tour from Italy. He reached the second round at the French Open of 2007, where he lost to Rafael Nadal. He reached the 3rd round of the 2008 US Open...

 at the US Open
2011 US Open – Men's Singles
Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, but was defeated in the final by Novak Djokovic with a score of 6–2, 6–4, 6–7, 6–1. Djokovic claimed his first US Open title, his third Grand Slam of the year, and his fourth Grand Slam overall.-Seeds:...

. At the 2011 Shanghai Masters
2011 Shanghai Masters
The 2011 Bank of Communication Shanghai Masters professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 5–11 September 2011 at the Shanghai Grand Stage, Shanghai, China...

, Nishikori reached his first Masters 1000 semifinal. In the second round, he defeated Robin Haase
Robin Haase
Robin Haase is a Dutch tennis player. Haase is currently the highest-ranked Dutch player, with his career high of No. 41 coming on 29 August 2011. He is endorsed by Head and SNS Reaal.-Career:...

 in three sets, after losing the first set 0-6. In the third round, Nishikiori scored the biggest upset of the tournament by defeating fourth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6–7, 6–4, 6–4. Nishikiori followed up that impressive performance with another three-set victory, this time over Santiago Giraldo
Santiago Giraldo
Santiago Giraldo Salazar is a Colombian male tennis player from Pereira in Colombia. He plays on the ATP tour and represents Colombia in the Davis Cup competition.-ATP Tour:...

 7–6, 4–6, 6–3. In the quarterfinals, Nishikori upset 12th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3. He lost to no. 2 Andy Murray in his first Masters 1000 semifinal. He reached a career-high of world no. 30. In the Swiss Indoors Basel tournament (ATP 500), Nishikori defeated the world no. 1 Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...

 to reach the final in three sets, 2–6, 7–6, 6–0, coming back from a 4:5 (0–30) deficit in the 2nd set. The win was only Djokovic's 4th loss of the season, 2nd loss in a completed match, and first loss of a completed match on a non-clay surface. On the heels of the victory, Nishikori was granted special exemption into the 2011 BNP Paribas Masters
2011 BNP Paribas Masters
The 2011 BNP Paribas Masters was a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 40th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2011 ATP World Tour...

 and achieved a ranking of world no. 24.

Personal

Nishikori lives in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 and trains at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy
Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy
The Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy is located in Bradenton, Florida, and was founded in 1978 by Nick Bollettieri as a full-time tennis boarding school that combines intensive tennis training with an academic curriculum....

. His parents are Kiyoshi and Eri, and he has a sister, Reina. His hobbies include baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, reading
Reading (process)
Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols for the intention of constructing or deriving meaning . It is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas...

, and listening to music. He is represented by Olivier van Lindonk of IMG
IMG (business)
IMG, originally known as the International Management Group is a global sports and media business headquartered in New York City.-History:...

.
In the video game Grand Slam Tennis, Kei is classed as an all-court player, and his special ability is his endurance
Endurance
Endurance is the ability for a human or animal to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fatigue. In humans, it is usually used in aerobic or anaerobic exercise...

.

In December 2010, it was announced that Nishikori would be coached by Brad Gilbert
Brad Gilbert
Brad Gilbert , is an American tennis coach, a television tennis commentator, an author and former professional tennis player. He was born in Oakland, California and graduated from Piedmont High School ....

 for the 2011 season. Gilbert has also coached Andy Murray and former world no. 1s Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...

 and Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....

.

Equipment

Nishikori currently uses the Wilson
Wilson Sporting Goods
The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is a sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois, and currently is a foreign subsidiary of the Finnish company Amer Sports....

 BLX Tour racket and wears Uniqlo
UNIQLO
is a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer.The company was originally a division of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.. On November 1, 2005, it was restructured as a separate wholly owned subsidiary called Uniqlo Co., Ltd. , which is listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock...

 clothing and adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...

 Barricade 6.0 shoes. He is also sponsored by Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

 and Nissin Foods.

Singles: 3 (1–2)

Legend
Grand Slam (0–0)
Tennis Masters Cup /
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Masters Series /
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP International Series Gold /
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–1)
ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (1–1)

Outcome No. Date Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 1. February 11, 2008   Delray Beach, United States Hard   James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...

3–6, 6–1, 6–4
Runner-up 1. April 10, 2011   Houston
U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament that started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts....

, United States
Clay   Ryan Sweeting
Ryan Sweeting
Ryan Sweeting is a Bahamian-born American professional tennis player.-Tennis career:Sweeting was born in Nassau, Bahamas, and has lived and trained in Ft. Lauderdale since the age of 12...

4–6, 6–7(7–3)
Runner-up 2. November 6, 2011   Basel
Davidoff Swiss Indoors
The Swiss Indoors is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. Originally an event of the Grand Prix tennis circuit between 1970 and 1989. It is currently part of the World Tour 500 Series of the ATP Tour. It is held annually at the St...

, Switzerland
Hard (i)   Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...

1–6, 3–6

Singles Performance Timeline

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only after a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.
Tournament200720082009201020112012W–LWin %
Grand Slam Tournaments
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...

Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...

A A 1R A 3R
2011 Australian Open – Men's Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Novak Djokovic, who went on to win the tournament by defeating Andy Murray 6–4, 6–2, 6–3 in the final. It was Djokovic's 2nd title at the Australian Open, with this title bearing many resemblances to his title in 2008. Djokovic...

2–2 50.00
French Open A LQ A 2R
2010 French Open – Men's Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Robin Söderling, which allowed him to make a second-successive final here. This was the first time since the 2004 French Open that Federer did not reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament.Rafael Nadal won his fifth...

2R
2011 French Open – Men's Singles
Rafael Nadal, the defending champion and, after this tournament, six-time winner of this event defended his title by beating long-time rival Roger Federer for his sixth French Open title, tying him with Björn Borg for most all-time in the open era. Notably, the Spaniard played his first ever...

2–2 50.00
Wimbledon A 1R A 1R
2010 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles
The Men's Singles event at the 2010 saw Rafael Nadal, the World No. 1 and 2nd seed, defeat 12th seed Tomáš Berdych 6–3 7–5 6–4 in the final to win his 2nd Wimbledon title, and his 8th Grand Slam title overall....

1R
2011 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles
Rafael Nadal was the defending champion but lost to Novak Djokovic in the final.Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title. Upon reaching the final, he gained the World No.1 ranking as a result. This marks the first time that neither Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal is ranked No...

0–3 00.00
US Open LQ 4R A 3R
2010 US Open – Men's Singles
Juan Martín del Potro was the defending champion, but chose not to participate this year, after undergoing a wrist operation in May and only starting to practice again in August...

1R
2011 US Open – Men's Singles
Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, but was defeated in the final by Novak Djokovic with a score of 6–2, 6–4, 6–7, 6–1. Djokovic claimed his first US Open title, his third Grand Slam of the year, and his fourth Grand Slam overall.-Seeds:...

5–3 62.50
Win–Loss 0–0 3–2 0–1 3-3 3–4 9–10 47.37
ATP Masters Series
ATP Masters Series
The ATP Masters Series was a series of nine tennis tournaments that formed part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America...

Indian Wells Masters
Indian Wells Masters
The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California....

A 1R 1R A 1R
2011 BNP Paribas Open – Men's Singles
The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 37th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011...

0–3 00.00
Miami Masters
Miami Masters
The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park...

A 1R A A 2R
2011 Sony Ericsson Open – Men's Singles
Andy Roddick was the defending champion, but lost to Pablo Cuevas in the second round.Novak Djokovic won the title, defeating Rafael Nadal 4–6, 6–3, 7–6 in the final for the second week in a row after also beating him in the Indian Wells final the previous week...

1–2 33.33
Monte Carlo Masters A A A A A 0–0 -
Rome Masters
Rome Masters
The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's...

A A A A Q2
2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia – Men's Singles Qualifying
This article displays the qualifying draw of the 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia.-Seeds:# Kei Nishikori # Pablo Andújar # Marcel Granollers # Pablo Cuevas...

0–0 -
Madrid Masters
Madrid Masters
There are two sporting events named the Madrid Masters:*Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open — a men's and women's tennis tournament*Madrid Masters...

A A A A 1R
2011 Mutua Madrid Open – Men's Singles
Rafael Nadal was the defending champion but lost to world No. 2 Novak Djokovic 7–5, 6–4 in the final. It was the second win for Djokovic on a ATP Master 1000 Tournament played on clay courts, the 6th title of the year and 24th of his career...

0–1 00.00
Canada Masters
Canada Masters
The Canada Masters , currently sponsored as the Rogers Cup, is an annual tennis tournament held in Canada. The men's competition is a Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour. The women's competition is a Premier 5 tournament on the Women's Tennis Association tour...

LQ A A A A 0–0 -
Cincinnati Masters
Cincinnati Masters
The Cincinnati Open is an annual outdoor hardcourts tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city., Between...

A A A A 1R
2011 Western & Southern Open – Men's Singles
Roger Federer was the two-time defending champion, but lost to Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinals.Andy Murray won the tournament beating No.1 seed Novak Djokovic in the final, 6–4, 3–0 ret. It was the 7th ATP Masters 1000 title of Murray's career, and his first in 2011...

0–1 00.00
Shanghai Masters
Shanghai Masters (tennis)
The Shanghai Masters is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour. It is held annually in October at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, People's...

NMS A LQ SF
2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters – Singles
Andy Murray was the defending champion and successfully defended his title by beating David Ferrer 7–5, 6–4 in the final.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Rafael Nadal # Andy Murray ...

4–1 80.00
Paris Masters
Paris Masters
The Paris Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Paris, France. It is played indoors at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The event is part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour...

A A A A 1R
2011 BNP Paribas Masters – Singles
Robin Söderling was the defending champion, but could not participate due to mononucleosis.Roger Federer won the title, defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6–1, 7–6 in the final.-Seeds:All seeds received a bye into the second round....

0–1 00.00
Win–Loss 0–0 0–2 0–1 0–0 6–6 6–9 40.00
Career Statistics
Titles–Finals 0–0 1–1 0–0 0–0 0–2 1–3 33.33
Year End Ranking 286 63 418 98 25 $1,150,957

External links

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