Kei Nishikori (possible spoiler)

Z

Zaragoza

Banned
He is Japanese, 17 years old (will turn 18 in Dec.) and ranked 373.
He played his first match at ATP level last week in Los Angeles losing to Moodie in straights but this week in Indianapolis he qualified for the main draw and he is already in the quarter finals after beating Falla and Berrer (not big names but Berrer beat Ginepri in 1st round). He plays Tursunov in the QF, that´s gonna be a tough one.
I think he moved to the Bolletieri academy and they have high expectations on him. I heard he is right handed with a two handed backhand.
Did anyone see him play? How far can he go?
 
M

Moose Malloy

Legend
I saw him play at a challenger earlier this year, didn't think much of him. He's mainly a retriever(though I guess the tour today seems more about defense than offense anyway)
 
AAAA

AAAA

Hall of Fame
How tall is he? without any weapons I doubt he will do well at the big tournamnents against the best players. Chang reached #2 in the 90s with a weak serve and consistent but low powered groundstrokes. A 'Chang' today will not reach no #2.
 
M

Moose Malloy

Legend
He's not tall. Not sure why you would mention Chang, except for the fact that they are both Asian(but Chang is Asian-American) I see lots of short guys on tour today.

Chang attacked the net a lot, was the fastest player on tour, & was mentally one of the toughest players ever. I think those attributes would make him pretty good in any era. Yes, he had low powered groundies, but I think the other strong aspects of his game balanced that out(& he could keep those groundies deep enough so that it didn't hurt him that much) No one I've seen (except Wilander) was as willing to change his game up during the course of a match as much as Chang did.
Its funny how time has made many fans forget how certain players played. Was just watching some of his matches, both players & commentators were saying that his agressiveness was what made him a difficult opponent, quite a contrast to how he is remembered today, even by some of those same players/commentators.

I don't see any of these characteristics in Nishikori, but if he can be that mentally tough(though I guess that's like asking a player to have a serve like sampras, that sort of toughness isn't easy to develop, some are just born with it, like chang) & develop the tactical mind of Chang not sure why he can't do well.
 
F

fastdunn

Legend
Yeah, chang actually ended up playing lots of defnsive game but
he had "attacking frame of mind". His basic framework of game
was all court attacking since he was junior. But his height stopped
growing unfortunately.

His strongest records was still on hard court. He continued to try
to add more attacking game until the end of his career.

His 1994(3?) US Open Quarter-final loss to Sampras shows his true color.
He started out playing like he played Sampras when they were juniors,
when he used to over-power Sampras. By the 3rd set, it was clear that
Chang couldn't do it any more.
 
jaggy

jaggy

Talk Tennis Guru
Well just about anyone can beat Tursanov if he is in one of his moods so he does have a real shot at a semifinal.
 
8

8PAQ

Banned
Zaragoza said:
He is Japanese, 17 years old (will turn 18 in Dec.) and ranked 373.
He played his first match at ATP level last week in Los Angeles losing to Moodie in straights but this week in Indianapolis he qualified for the main draw and he is already in the quarter finals after beating Falla and Berrer (not big names but Berrer beat Ginepri in 1st round). He plays Tursunov in the QF, that´s gonna be a tough one.
I think he moved to the Bolletieri academy and they have high expectations on him. I heard he is right handed with a two handed backhand.
Did anyone see him play? How far can he go?
Click to expand...
That means he now has two ATP main draw wins and 5 month older Donald Young still has zero. That's right, ZERO.
 
D

DraGoNoFfiR3

Guest
Zaragoza said:
He is Japanese, 17 years old (will turn 18 in Dec.) and ranked 373.
He played his first match at ATP level last week in Los Angeles losing to Moodie in straights but this week in Indianapolis he qualified for the main draw and he is already in the quarter finals after beating Falla and Berrer (not big names but Berrer beat Ginepri in 1st round). He plays Tursunov in the QF, that´s gonna be a tough one.
I think he moved to the Bolletieri academy and they have high expectations on him. I heard he is right handed with a two handed backhand.
Did anyone see him play? How far can he go?
Click to expand...

i saw him at los angeles against moodie. hes a very solid player, consistent but didnt take enough risks, maybe nervous?. he was constantly on the defensive, and alot of his shots were landing short. he uses a Wilson nTour Two
 
35ft6

35ft6

Legend
Saw him at the same challenger Moose did. I was more impressed than he was, and my opinion of him really changed when I learned he was 17, not a 25 yo journeyman like I thought he was when I was watching him demoralize a much bigger, taller hitter in Ryan Sweeting.

Consider me impressed. Why? The dude can construct a point. In the first set, Ryan was just playing huge and out of his mind. Thus the defensive tennis comment, he HAD to, but it got him into the match and, more importantly, it got inside Ryan's head that a person was making changes to neutralize his game. By the third set he was playing true all court tennis, changing up the pace, coming to the net a lot where his volleys were very good.

His serve was his major weakness. He says his favorite surface is clay. His results at his age is impressive. No huge weapons, but superior technique, great strategist, and a backhand that doesn't miss and a very good down the line backhand, and mental toughness. I like his prospects. Top 50 potential.
 
Fedace

Fedace

Banned
Zaragoza said:
He is Japanese, 17 years old (will turn 18 in Dec.) and ranked 373.
He played his first match at ATP level last week in Los Angeles losing to Moodie in straights but this week in Indianapolis he qualified for the main draw and he is already in the quarter finals after beating Falla and Berrer (not big names but Berrer beat Ginepri in 1st round). He plays Tursunov in the QF, that´s gonna be a tough one.
I think he moved to the Bolletieri academy and they have high expectations on him. I heard he is right handed with a two handed backhand.
Did anyone see him play? How far can he go?
Click to expand...
Yea i did see him briefly. He is VERY very talented and is having a amazing week. But he does lack power right now but has great hands. Once he adds power to his game, he could be top 50 player for sure. He will go down to talented Dimitry Tursunov, but will give him run for his money.;)
 
R

Rob_C

Hall of Fame
8PAQ said:
That means he now has two ATP main draw wins and 5 month older Donald Young still has zero. That's right, ZERO.
Click to expand...
Its a matter of getting the right draws and matchups. When they played in the finals of the Little Rock futures this year, DY beat him 2 & 2. Its impossible to say, but give DY the exact same draws this kid got, and how would he do. He didnt play Hyung Taik Lee, a top 40 player, in the 1st rd of Indy like DY did.

Give Nishikori the exact same draw that DY got, how would he do against Lee???

I would think this would DY confidence, seeing one of his peers breaking thru. Its just a matter of time, and luck of the draw.
 
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lacoster

lacoster

Professional
Amateur player Nishikori just won another pro level match, beating Gabashvili in straights. He takes on Benneteau next, which is a pretty winnable match for him, considering Benneteau's current form.

His game reminds me of Chang's and he proclaims his favorite surface is clay...
________
Daihatsu Pyzar History
 
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lacoster

lacoster

Professional
Rob_C said:
Its a matter of getting the right draws and matchups. .
Click to expand...
DY has had some pretty winnable matchups before. I don't think DY has recovered from his double-bagel embarassment from clay-courter Berlocq last year on hard courts. Remember Berlocq also had never won an ATP-level match until that point. Even more embarrasing for DY was that Berlocq got double-bagelled by Blake in the next round. This didn't exactly translate into locker-room street cred for DY.

Rob_C said:
I would think this would DY confidence, seeing one of his peers breaking thru. Its just a matter of time, and luck of the draw.
Click to expand...
DY turned pro in 2004. It's been 3 years. I am guessing DY is getting more and more aggravated than getting more confidence seeing his peers from the juniors (Querrey, Nishikori, Cilic, Zverev, Sweeting, Kuznetsov) stringing ATP-level wins.
 
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