High ranking sits uncomfortably on Nishikori's shoulders
Reuters
Published Jan 24, 2015 07:38AM ET
High ranking sits uncomfortably on Nishikori's shoulders
By Ian Ransom
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A break-out 2014 season and a career-high ranking of five has added extra weight to Kei Nishikori's shoulders, with the U.S. Open finalist already bearing the burden of huge expectations in his home country Japan.
Nishikori became the first man from an Asian country to reach a grand slam final at Flushing Meadows and though the 25-year-old wears the distinction with pride, he also feels the pressure to take the extra step.
Nishikori reached the fourth round of the Australian Open on Saturday with a 6-7(7) 6-1 6-2 6-3 win over much-improved American Steve Johnson at the Hisense Arena.
But the fifth seed still has a huge mountain to climb at Melbourne Park with top seed Novak Djokovic and defending champion Stan Wawrinka likely to stand in the way of a maiden final in Australia.
"Obviously number five is a different feeling than outside of the top 10 because you still feel a lot of confidence, but you feel other things off the court," Nishikori told reporters.
"I think I feel more pressure than before. I try not to think too much. But you obviously feel a little bit. It's still not comfortable for me to be this ranking.
"But I think I need more time to get used to it. If I can play good tennis, I think I have a lot of chance to stay here this whole year. You know, practise hard and prepare good. Hopefully I can do good this week and next week."
Nishikori will have one less distraction at Melbourne Park before his fourth-round match against David Ferrer, with Japan's national soccer team bombing out of their Asian Cup title defense in Australia.
The defending champions lost a penalty shoot-out to underdogs United Arab Emirates in Sydney on Friday much to the disappointment of huge fan Nishikori.
"Yeah, (I'm) disappointed because I think they really had a chance of winning the whole thing. So really sad to see," he said.
"I hope tennis gets bigger in Japan, Asia. But I love soccer. So I hope lot of kids start playing soccer, too."
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.