Japanese tennis player K. Nishikori, born on 29 December 1989, competes professionally.
After Jiro Sato, he is the only other male Japanese player to have reached the top 5 in singles rankings during the Open Era.
K. Nishikori Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
In March 2015, K. Nishikori initially attained his all-time-high singles position of No. 4 in the world.
K. Nishikori is the first male athlete from an Asian nation to reach a Grand Slam singles final.
He has won 12 singles titles and finished runner-up at the 2014 US Open. Additionally, he qualified for the ATP Finals as the first Asian man and made it to the semifinals in 2014 and 2016 as well.
The bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics was won by K. Nishikori over Rafael Nadal, giving Japan its first tennis medal at the Olympics in 96 years.
With a record of 27-7 and a victory percentage of 79.4% in matches lasting five sets, K. K. Nishikori also holds the record for the best win percentage.
Olympics: Inspired K. Nishikori Takes on Dominant Djokovic
Seven years have passed since K. Nishikori last defeated Novak Djokovic.
The two have faced off 18 times, with Djokovic triumphing in 16 of them, including the last 15 straight.
With a world No. 1 ranking and a 21-match winning streak going into his semifinal match against K. Nishikori, the Serbian is in fine form in 2021.
As he continues on his apparently unstoppable march to the calendar-year Golden Grand Slam.
Djokovic is just three victories away from adding the Olympic singles gold medal to his collection after winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and Roland Garros crowns this year.
Saying the chances are not in K. Nishikori’s favour may be a major understatement.
But this particular match will be different because it will be the first time they have played in K. Nishikori’s home nation.
And it will be the first time they have done it in a competitive environment like the Olympics or Davis Cup.
Conclusion
When K. Nishikori of Japan faces world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the men’s tennis event quarterfinals, he will try to take motivation from his Olympic gold medal winning compatriots.
K. Nishikori, who won bronze in Rio five years ago, is hoping to derail Djokovic’s bid for the Golden Slam in Tokyo.
And maintain his chances of being the first Japanese tennis winner to win the Olympics.
The former US Open runner-up defeated Belarus’ Ilya Ivashka 7-6 (9/7), 6-0 on Wednesday, although he and partner Ben McLachlan subsequently fell in the men’s doubles quarterfinals.
