Sport - Tennis

Nishikori is a revelation

NEW YORK: Kei Nishikori will have quite a story to tell when he goes home.

The 18-year-old, who began the season by startling James Blake, became the first man from Japan in 35 years to reach the third round at the U.S. Open on Thursday.

“I wasn’t playing well today. But he retired, and I was just lucky,” Nishikori said.

Next up for the world’s 126th-ranked player is a sterner test — the fourth-seeded David Ferrer. No man from Japan has reached the fourth round of this event since the Open era began in 1968.

Jun Kamiwazumi was the last Japanese man to make it to the third round, back in 1973. The Japanese women have fared better, with Ai Sugiyama seeded 30th at this year’s Open.

Nishikori started the year with quite an upset, qualifying at Delray Beach (Florida) and then beating the top-seeded Blake for the title. He became the youngest player to win an ATP title since Lleyton Hewitt did it at 16 in 1998.

More than a dozen Japanese fans chanted “Nippon! Nippon!” from the stands as Nishikori won that event in February.

Nishikori’s parents were at Flushing Meadows to watch his latest victory. Now based in the United States, he plans to take a vacation back in Japan later this year.

“Sometimes I get homesick,” he said.

Always looking to expand around the globe, the ATP is adding a new stop on its world tour: Johannesburg.

The men’s tennis tour announced on Thursday that events will be held in the South African city in 2009, 2010 and 2011. — AP

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