Kei Nishikori is first Asian to make Grand Slam final #USOPEN
How exciting is this?!!!
Kei Nishkori has kept fighting through imposing obstacles at this United States Open, his coach Michael Chang has kept reminding him, “Great effort, but the tournament is not over yet.”
His remarkable 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory on Saturday made him the first man from Asia to reach a Grand Slam singles final.
“It’s, I don’t know, 4 o’clock in the morning,” Nishikori, 24, said of the time in his native Japan. “But I hope a lot of people are watching.”
If they were not on Saturday, they will be soon. Nishikori, who left home at age 14 to train at the IMG Academy in Bradenton Fla., was a star in his homeland. His run here and his victory over Djokovic will take him to a new level.
In Monday’s final, Nishikori will face the winner of Saturday’s second semifinal between No. 2-seeded Roger Federer and No. 14 Marin Cilic.
The 10th-seeded Nishikori is the lowest seed to reach the final of the United States Open since Pete Sampras, who was seeded 17th when he won the title in 2002 in what turned out to be his final professional match. But Nishikori is just getting started and might well have made this kind of breakthrough earlier if not for a series of injuries, including a serious right elbow problem that required surgery in 2009 and knocked him far out of the top 100.
Watch match point!
Of course he is sponsored by UNIQLO!!!
via newyorktimes.com
Congratulations to Kei Nishikori!! I think the trend that started with the Russians is now being led by the Asians!
Remember John McEnroe aka “The Brat”?? I saw so many of his matches and they always ended later because of his tantrums! They couldn’t stand him at Wimbledon. High drama was always guaranteed when he played! I used to go more for the screaming matches than the actual game=major entertainment!! 🙂
Congratulations to Kei Nishikori!! I think the trend that started with the Russians is now being led by the Asians!
Remember John McEnroe aka “The Brat”?? Now he is a commentator for the US OPEN!! I saw so many of his matches and they always ended later because of his tantrums! They couldn’t stand him at Wimbledon. High drama was always guaranteed when he played! I used to go more for the screaming matches than the actual game=major entertainment!! I met him about 8 years ago at a Charity Event and he was very nice and very funny. He has mellowed out completely! 🙂
The Umpire Strikes at John McEnroe