Welcome to Next Up, where USOpen.org will showcase rising stars on the ATP and WTA tours who could be in line to make a splash to remember at the 2020 US Open. Today we profile Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan, who looks poised to make his first major run at a Grand Slam.
Two years ago, Yoshihito Nishioka announced himself to the tennis world—literally—after winning his first ATP title at the 2018 Shenzhen Open.
“Please remember my name,” he told the Chinese crowd during the trophy ceremony. “It’s not Nishikori. I’m Nishioka.”
Six years younger than his countryman, the 24-year-old Nishioka is trending towards passing the 2014 US Open finalist in the rankings. In 2017, he got as high as No. 58 before an ACL tear sidelined him for nine months.
The lefty’s now up to a career-high of No. 48, first reached in February on the strength of a final run at the 2020 Delray Beach Open (where he thrice came back from a set down) and a quarterfinal appearance at the 2019 Western & Southern Open (where he beat Nishikori in the second round for his first Top-5 win). Sandwiched between those, he was Japan’s No. 1 man at the Davis Cup Finals, where he defeated France’s Gael Monfils in group play for his second career Top-10 win.
It was all coming together, until the world came apart with the spread of COVID-19. But the New York stage could be the perfect place for Nishioka to step firmly into the spotlight, as he competes in his sixth US Open main draw.
It must be said that the biggest hole in Nishioka’s resume is his record at the Grand Slams. Even in his junior days, when he reached a career high of world No. 12, a 2012 US Open boys’ semifinal run was his only venture past the third round at a major.
Prior to 2020, he owned a 6-15 senior record at the Slams, never getting past Round 2. But he began to put that right at the Australian Open this year, toppling No. 30 seed Dan Evans in straight sets before having the misfortune of facing eventual champ Novak Djokovic in Round 3.
“He chases everything down and I find it difficult to play him,” Evans said of his conqueror, post-match. “It’s frustrating, but that is what makes him such a good player. He frustrates players.”
Standing at 5-foot-7 (the same height as two-time US Open quarterfinalist Diego Schwartzman), Nishioka is accustomed to battling for every point, with few freebies coming his way. His compact frame helps him motor around the court, and what he lacks in power he makes up in craft—never more so than in this behind-the-back winner from his days on the Challenger circuit, one of the most ingenuous shots of the last decade.
At the Slam level, Nishioka had an epic five-setter with Juan Martin del Potro at the 2019 French Open, and he got a taste of Arthur Ashe Stadium when he went down against Roger Federer at the 2018 US Open. Now is the time to cash in on those experiences.
After grinding his way into the ATP’s Top 50, Nishioka has another opportunity to fight through to the second week of a major on his favored hard courts at the 2020 US Open.
Video: Nishioka defeats Marcos Giron in Round 1 of the 2019 US Open.
