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By Chris Oddo | Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Tiny steps, taken methodically over the last three years, have led Japan’s Kei Nishikori to giant accomplishments in 2014. The fleet-footed, powerful 24-year-old has left his old dreams in the dust and sped up the ATP’s ladder of success to his current perch in the top five.

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Now that he’s gotten there in such exhilarating fashion, many believe that Nishikori is a man with the potential to become the ATP’s next maiden Grand Slam winner.

Once Nishikori broke through what had been known as “Project 45” to replace Shuzo Matsoaka (former world No. 45) as Japan’s highest-ranking tennis player in history, the Shimane, Japan native has slowly but surely embarked upon the journey to higher ground.

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It has by no means been a meteoric rise for the 5’10” 163-lb baseliner, who has dealt with more than his share of injuries, setbacks and brick walls in recent years.

But all the while Nishikori, a wildly talented and waterbug-quick and powerful player who possesses what is considered to be one of the three best backhands on tour, kept pushing. In his silent, humble manner, the explosive Nishikori kept growing and cracking more milestones.

He became the first Japanese man to win the Tokyo title in 41 years in 2012 and finished the season inside the ATP’s top 20 for the first time. After another top 20 finish in 2013, Nishikori made even bigger waves in 2014, after pairing with former U.S. legend Michael Chang.

The Bradenton, Florida resident and former prized pupil of Nick Bollettieri would upset Roger Federer in Miami to reach the semifinals before pulling out due to injury. Then, after winning the Barcelona title (first non-Spanish man to do so in 11 years) Nishikori would smash another barrier in Madrid when he reached his first Masters 1000 final and ended up cracking the top ten at week’s end.

But the setbacks kept coming, too. Enthusiasm for Nishikori’s rise has always been tempered by the harsh reality that his body—at least up until that point—hadn’t been able to cope with the physicality of the men’s game. He would retire in the third set of the Madrid final due to injury, then, not properly recovered weeks later, lose in the first round of the French Open to Martin Klizan.

But the true professional rises up and faces his demons, and Nishikori, guided by the stern and tactical hand of Chang, did just that this summer. After having surgery on his right toe, Nishikori spent the weeks prior to the US Open hitting tennis balls while sitting on a chair at the IMG Academy in Bradenton. Not exactly your typical recipe for Grand Slam success, but the extra rest seemed to leave Nishikori’s bones and muscles fresher than ever to make the run of his career in New York.

At the 2014 US Open Nishikori won three consecutive matches against top ten players, taking out Milos Raonic, Stan Wawrinka and finally world No. 1 Novak Djokovic to reach the finals, becoming the first-ever Asian player to crack the milestone and proving to the world—and more important, himself—that he had finally developed the endurance, strength and fortitude to match his astronomical shotmaking talents at the Grand Slam level.

Two months later, Nishikori has qualified as the first Asian man to ever reach the ATP’s World Tour Finals, and there’s no telling what he’ll be able to produce for an encore. Having won five of his last six and nine of 14 in 2014 against the top ten, Nishikori most certainly has the talent to match wits and strokes against the cream of the ATP crop.

But at the end of a long season, one in which Nishikori put so much wear and tear on his body (his shoulder appeared to be deep-fried during his straight-sets loss to Novak Djokovic last week in Paris), can the world No. 5 rise again for a fantastic finish to what has already been a mind-blowing year?

He’ll begin his campaign on Sunday in the first singles match of the week against red-hot Andy Murray. Another peak performance would surely indicate that Nishikori is ready to take things a step further in 2015. But there is still much to prove for the 24-year-old. Getting to a major final and cracking the top five has been quite a landmark achievement for Nishikori. But there are more mountains to climb, more challenges to endure, and Nishikori must now approach his life on the tour as a player with a reputation to live up to.

He’s proven he’s talented—and strong—enough to enter the top five. Now he’ll have to prove he can stay there, or risk being replace by the next hungry pioneer.

 

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