Nishikori gunning for unprecedented glory

10th seed vying to become first Japanese to reach a major final.

NEW YORK: The hopes of a nation rest on the slim shoulders of Kei Nishikori, who is bidding this weekend to become the first-ever Japanese to play in the singles final of a Grand Slam tennis tournament.

He outlasted Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka in five sets in the US Open quarter-finals to become the first Japanese man in 81 years to reach the last four of a major tournament.

Now, just the minor obstacle of the world number-one Novak Djokovic stands between the 24 year-old and history.



Nishikori’s father Kiyoshi, 57, told the Asahi newspaper, “Kei tends to work a miracle by playing beyond his physical limits when he has a fixed goal to focus on.”

The first Japanese player to reach the semi-final of a major tournament was Ichiya Kumagae — in 1918 at the US championship men’s singles.

At Wimbledon, Zenzo Shimizu made the last-four round in 1920 when the event pitted the previous year’s winner against challengers who had fought through a knock-out tournament.

The most recent male semi-finalist the country has produced is Jiro Sato. He reached the stage five times — Roland Garros in 1931, Australia and Wimbledon in 1932, Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 1933.

Federer one win away from decisive match

Roger Federer’s dream of a potential US Open final clash with Djokovic faces a stiff test on Saturday from Marin Cilic, the Croat who sees a first grand slam title as a perfect way to repair his reputation.

Federer, the 17-time major champion who is chasing a record sixth US Open title, has a 5-0 career edge over Cilic including a four-set win in New York in 2011 and at Toronto in three tough sets last month.

Cilic, the 25-year-old 14th seed, missed last year’s US Open sitting out a controversial doping ban handed out after he tested positive for a banned stimulant contained in a supplement bought over-the-counter by one of his staff.

A six-month ban was eventually reduced to four by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but Cilic still believes the entire process was unjust.

“It angered me how all the process went because it was not fair,” said Cilic. “It wouldn’t be fair to any tennis player.”

Meanwhile, the victory was Federer’s 26th in 27 night-time matches in New York and put him just one win away from 600 victories on hard courts.

“Monfils played great tennis,” said Federer after the duel that put him in his first semi-final since 2011.

“I knew I could play better tennis, but on match point I wasn’t feeling so great anymore. I just thought this could be the last point, don’t give it away on an easy shot, make him work for it.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2014.

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