Kei Nishikori
He has yet to win a Grand Slam title, but Japanese ace Kei Nishikori’s strong double-handed backhand and topspin-heavy serve has bamboozled many an opponent, among them none other than World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
The Serb missed out on the Italian Open title – the last event before the clay-court Grand Slam with a straight sets loss in the final to Andy Murray, and at one point it seemed as though he would not even progress past the semi-finals of the event.
6th-ranked Nishikori forced a deciding set against Djokovic with some impressively long rallying against the Serb, and displayed a tenacity not many players have in recent years. With the final set going to a tiebreak, Nishikori fought until the final point – with Djokovic winning the tiebreak by the most narrow margin – 7-6.
If the 26-year-old can carry both skill and mental resolve into the French Open, he could be a definite contender for the title.
Nishikori finished in the quarter-finals of the tournament last year, eventually losing to Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a five-setter; that is his career-best performance at the French Open, a statistic he will look to better this year and given his form, could be primed to do.
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