Kei Nishikori played the final match of his career on Thursday at the Japan Open, falling to Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-4.
With the home crowd trying to energize him, Nishikori managed to be relatively competitive from start to finish. However, he produced only one break point — which he converted — even though Tiafoe served at a dreadful 48 percent. The second-seeded American more than made up for it with three breaks of his own.
Nishikori turned pro back in 2007, finished runner-up at the 2014 U.S. Open, won 12 titles, and climbed as high as No. 4 in the world. Mainly due to physical problems that plagued him throughout his career, Nishikori played sparingly in recent seasons. He is ranked No. 436 in the world and compiled a modest 1-2 record on the main tour this year.
“My love for tennis and my belief that I could become a stronger player always brought me back to the court,” Nishikori wrote in his retirement announcement back in April. “To be honest, I still wish I could continue my playing career. Even so, looking back on everything up to this point, I can proudly say that I gave it my all. I am truly happy to have walked this path.”
Tiafoe’s Tokyo path continues with a second-round blockbuster against Arthur Fils on Friday.
Carlos Alcaraz, Matteo Berrettini, Luciano Darderi, Ugo Humbert, Jaume Munar, Jaime Faria, and Adolfo Daniel Vallejo also advanced on Thursday. Alcaraz held off Alex Michelsen 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-1.
there goes another one
Love this little statistical snippet from the ATP site:
“Nishikori won 72.5 per cent (158-60) of the deciding sets he played during his career, the third-best tour-level mark in history behind only ATP No. 1 Club members Bjorn Borg (73.4%) and John McEnroe (72.8%), according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. He also won 78.4 per cent (29-8) of the fifth sets he played.”