For Kei Nishikori, Florida is his home away from home. The 27-year-old shifted his training base from his native of Shimane to the southeastern tip of USA at the age of 14, to the city of Bradenton where he continues to reside and train. Therefore, it’s not that surprising to note that one of the three ATP Masters 1000 finals he has reached in his career so far, came right at the Miami Open in 2016.
As the defending finalist this year, Nishikori does then have a lot to live up to in the event. He got a good start in his second round opener against Kevin Anderson in tricky conditions, but faces an equally tricky matchup against Spain’s Fernando Verdasco on Sunday.
But as someone who has made deep inroads in the cut-and-thrust of the ATP Tour – against the biggest names in the sport currently – among the ever-growing swell of players bidding to do the same, the World No 4 has not adroitly justified his place. But has also uniquely made it his own. And, in doing so it’s also where he has started to fall short.
The tactical brilliance and the contradiction it holds
During play, Nishikori makes the court his own with well-balanced rhythm that is generated through his clean baseline game, off both wings. Of the two shots, Nishikori’s forehand is, indeed, bankable and can withstand its own during exchanges of groundstrokes. However, it’s his backhand that has given his game depth, with him able to stymie his opponents with his variance and placement of shot-making from that flank.
For those playing against him, getting a crack at his backhand, thus, becomes the first priority. Roger Federer, who was involved in the fourth round tussle with Nishikori at the Australian Open, summarised his opponent’s tricky game eloquently, stating, “It’s wonderful how he can wait till the last moment to change direction, also the way he finds angle cross-court. He’s one of the few that can actually do it with power. His left hand must be very strong. He wrestles the ball there.”
Irrespective of these facets in his game and the myriad notes of consistency he has achieved, Nishikori hasn’t been able to convert his successes into hard-hitting results.
He is yet to win a Masters title, and his tally of appearances in the finals of Majors stands has been restricted to just the one – the 2014 US Open, where Marin Cilic brushed the court with him to win his first Major title. In that then ostensibly, the same tactical technicalities that can be described as his strengths, come to be gauged as his weaknesses that weigh him down.
A case of borrowing from tennis’ not-so-glorious past
“I am trying to keep my ranking and [am] hoping that I can raise my ranking, and win a big title, especially a Masters or a Grand Slam,” said Nishikori in one of his interviews at the start of this year. “I think I’m getting close to the top four guys. Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are still dominating the Tour, but I hope I can keep up with their level,” he added, as if trying to emphasise the backing players received by having consistent ranking.
As far as making a statement of intent goes, it’s spot on from Nishikori. But it also puts him right along the lines of some of tennis’ other representatives, both past as well as present, who though have – or had – maintained their ranking steadily, failed to make any further impacts from thereon.
Nikolay Davydenko, David Nalbandian, Ivan Ljubicic, David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych and even Marcelo Rios for that matter, can then share a few pages of their extensive chronicles during their respective professional zeniths with Nishikori.
Each of these players is in a different trajectory, personally as well as professionally. While Ferrer and Berdych are still around, it’s been a while since Davydenko, Nalbandian and Ljubicic hung up their racquets. Just as it’s been over a decade since Rios exited the circuit. However, all of them – retired or otherwise – remain haunted by the parallel of their inexplicableness to get that one redefining win of their career that would have made them truly one of tennis’ core elites.
The only aspect that connects them is the lack of evolution of their game that could have helped them make the transition towards being a superlative player. In that context though, while Nishikori looked to have separated himself from adding his name to this unkind list, by effectually adding Michael Chang to his name, incertitude too has started making itself known about their partnership.
The coaching paradigm
One of the earliest player to jump on the much-touted about supercoach bandwagon – along with Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer – the immediacy of Nishikori teaming up with Michael Chang, at the start of the 2014 season, was seen in his dismantling of Djokovic’s game in the semi-final of the US Open that year.
But three years onward, the tie-up started to seem monotonous as bigger results have stalled. It is, in turn, prompting queries as to whether there’s a need for him to re-engage newer coaching prospects, either co-working with Chang or as a newer team separately.
Nishikori is doing his best to keep them at a distance, but his struggles to pick up the pace of his career may not afford him the opportunity to do so perpetually. The choice rests on him now, though it won’t be long before it’s forced on him, making him reevaluate his game by leaving him stranded at the crossroad of his own making.