He is entering just his first season as a top-10 player but already Kei Nishikori is being hailed as one of the greatest shot-makers the game has seen.
It is high praise when the words come from eight-time grand slam singles champion, Andre Agassi, the legend few would dispute as one of the greatest shot-makers the game has seen.
World No.5 Nishikori today posted to Facebook as he was about to board the final leg of his flight to Queensland ahead of his fifth Brisbane International campaign, after a breakthrough 12 months.
In September, the 24-year-old reached his maiden grand slam final beating a string of top-10 players – Milos Raonic, Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka and world No.1 Novak Djokovic – before falling short against Marin Cilic in the final.
His run at Flushing Meadows was enough to convince Agassi the Japanese talent had the goods to land a major.
“There is no question in my mind he believes he can win a slam,” Agassi said after playing an exhibition against Nishikori in Tokyo recently. “I’ve seen him play with that purpose. From a talent perspective, he’s very capable of winning a grand slam. He’s dynamic and incredibly fast.”
Nishikori arrives in Brisbane as the No.2 seed having finished his season as the first Asian player to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals in London, where he reached the semifinals before falling to Djokovic.
His year also included four titles and already the highest-ranked Asian man to play the game has made it clear his big goal for the 2015 season.
“One goal is to at least reach the semifinals in all of them (the four Grand Slam events),” Nishikori said.
“First of all, I want to get some positive results in Australia, where I find it easy to play.”
Agassi expects it is only a matter of time before the Japanese player has a major to his name.
“There is always a time for seasons to change and he’s positioned to be the one to step in. He’s one of the few players I would pay to go and watch, he’s that good,” Agassi said. “What he’s done is very impressive in this day and age to do the way he does it. Kei is one of the greatest shot-makers the game has ever seen and there’s no reason he can’t go on further.”
You can catch Kei Nishikori in action at the 2015 Brisbane International presented by Suncorp and supported by Tourism and Events Queensland. The event will be held at the Queensland Tennis Centre from 4-11 January. Tickets are now on sale through Ticketek.
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