It certainly has been one memorable US Open for Japanese teen Kei Nishikori. The 18-year-old became the second Japanese man to reach the fourth round of the US Open after he defeated no. 4-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer, aside from Japanese player Shuzo Matsuoka who became a Wimbledon finalist in 1995. This victory, which happened on Saturday, August 30, makes the Japanese teen, at 18, the youngest man to reach round 16 of the US Open since Marat Safin in 1998. This also made him the youngest man to beat one of the top-seeded men in the tournament, a feat last achieved by Bjorn Borg when he defeated no. 3 Arthur Ashe in 1973.
“I’m very proud,” Nishikori was heard saying. Nishikori had entered the tournament ranked at no. 126 and prior to this win only had one top 20 player victory and that was over James Blake during a hard-court tournament in Delray Beach, Florida. This win was especially significant since David Ferrer was the player who eliminated the current no. 1, Rafael Nadal, in last year’s race to the semifinals.
This is just Nishikori’s second career major tournament and is a sure sign of more great matches to come. Ferrer, always the good sport, seemed to agree. “It’s not a surprise,” the Spanish player was heard saying. “For sure, he will be a very good player, no?”
