The smallest and least heralded Top 10 tennis player in the world grew up in Shimane Prefecture, a region tucked between the Sea of Japan and the Chogoku Mountain Range, on the northern edge of western Japan.
It is known for its stunning beauty and its abundance of shrines, and for being the ancestral meeting place of Japanese gods. “The hidden soul of Japan” is what Shimane likes to call itself, and its most famous sporting export, Kei Nishikori, certainly wouldn’t mind finding a way to win two more US Open matches and make Shimane a little more famous.
“It’s going to be a big goal for me to get this title,” Nishikori said.
Nishikori, 26, is the No. 6 seed at the US Open, and if you’ve somehow managed to overlook him through the first 10 days of of the Open, you are a member of no small club. Nishikori was more workmanlike than dazzling in his first four victories, before ramping up every aspect of his game in the quarterfinals, when he ousted No. 2 seed and reigning Wimbledon and Olympic champion Andy Murray in five thrilling sets, 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.
"Fourth and fifth I think I played one of the best tennis," Nishikori said. "It was great match."
Having left Shimane at 14 for Bradenton, Fla., where he still trains at Nick Bolletieri’s Tennis Academy, Nishikori has spent almost half his life in the States, and if he’s not as American as McDonald’s, well, he’s getting close. Indeed, Nishikori had the best Grand Slam run of his life right here at the home of America’s Grand Slam. That came two years ago, when Nishikori stunned Novak Djokovic in a four-set semifinal triumph, before falling to Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the title match. Nishikori became the first Asian man to compete for a Slam championship, and his Flushing Meadows associations remain overwhelmingly positive – no matter that Djokovic has won all nine of their meetings since.
“For sure, I have great memory [of the run in 2014],” Nishikori said.
With a 51-14 record for the year (34-9 on hard courts), Nishikori comes to the semifinals after a superb summer. He was the runner-up in Toronto to Djokovic last month, and advanced to the third round in Cincinnati, before losing to Bernard Tomic, but his biggest summer highlight was defeating Rafael Nadal to capture the Olympic bronze medal in Rio.
“I had a great experience,” Nishikori said. “I mean, for us, I think Grand Slam is still the biggest dream, but, you know, I think winning the medal is something special. Especially the last match against Rafa. I had a lot of confidence from that match. I got a lot of good things from Olympics.”
Like the overwhelming majority of his tennis brethren these days, Nishikori doesn’t often stray far from the baseline, though he is more comfortable than most on both wings, with a backhand that is potent enough that he feels no need to run around it. His quick hands and feet help fortify the strong return game he put on display to reach this stage. Nishikori believes that improved patience and a sharper tactical sense about point construction make him a much better player than he was when he lost two years in the final to Cilic.
Before he takes to the court Friday against Stan Wawrinka, Nishikori will have his customary pre-match meal – white rice – and then make his way through the underbelly of Ashe to the biggest tennis court on the planet. A victory would put Kei Nishikori a step closer to his goal, and might even get him some increased global attention, far beyond the temples and mountains of Shimane Prefecture.
