Kei Nishikori is looking forward to competing at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and is hoping to see his Japanese compatriots turn out in force at The O2 in London. “It’s always nice to have Japanese fans in the stadium,” said Nishikori. “I love seeing the Japanese flags. It brings a great atmosphere, in such a great arena. It’s fantastic.”
With a 57-18 match record – tied-third with Dominic Thiem for most match wins on the ATP World Tour in 2016 – Nishikori is aiming to close out the year in style, on his third season finale appearance.
Nishikori has been drawn in Group John McEnroe alongside Andy Murray (2-7 FedEx ATP Head2Head), Marin Cilic (7-5) and Wawrinka (2-4). He is hoping to draw on his performances against Murray in this year’s Davis Cup and US Open quarter-finals, and also against Wawrinka at the Rogers Cup in Toronto.
“It’s a very tough group,” said Nishikori. “I’m playing Stan [Wawrinka], who is having a great year, in my first match [on Monday]. Andy is the new No. 1 [in the Emirates ATP Rankings] and Marin [Cilic] is also in form. But I’m getting used to playing here, this is my third appearance, and it is a big goal for me to do well. It is a great opportunity for me to finish a great season.
”The Davis Cup match [in March] was a turning point for me, even though I lost the match against Andy. I didn’t feel I had much of a chance to win, although I almost beat him [in five sets] and it gave me a lot of confidence. To beat him at the US Open was my second win over him. It showed me that I could play with a lot of patience and confidence over five sets. I was able to play good tennis.”
Nishikori, who has compiled a 1-4 record in ATP World Tour finals, including a recent runner-up finish to Cilic in the Swiss Indoors Basel final, has practised in London this week with Gael Monfils, Dominic Thiem and Marcelo Melo. He has a 4-10 record against Top 10 opponents in the Emirates ATP Rankings this year.
On his debut at the 2014 season finale, his semi-final loss to Novak Djokovic was watched by 10 million people on TV Asahi in Japan. He’ll be hoping for the same level of support, if he is to make a similar impact, this year.
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