ATP Tokyo: Without Nishikori - a lot of local color, but few chances
The tableau of the ATP Tour 500 tournament in Tokyo is well filled with local heroes. In the absence of Kei Nishikori, only one person has an outsider chance of winning: Yoshihito Nishioka.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Oct 04, 2022, 03:56 pm
Little is heard these days from Kei Nishikori, the still only 32-year-old Japanese figurehead in men's tennis. Nishikori's last match dates from Indian Wells last year, which is known to have been played in the fall. And for the 2014 US Open finalist, the end came in round two against Daniel Evans. And so the ATP Tour 500 event in Tokyo lacks its year-long figurehead.
On the other hand, it's only been a few days since Yoshihito Nishioka drove his opponent Denis Shapovalov to the brink of insanity in the Seoul final. And flew home from South Korea with his second career title. Nishioka is certainly the best hope for a home win in Tokyo. The opening opponent Miomir Kecmanovic, meanwhile, always has a surprising high in his repertoire.
In any case, there is no lack of professional tennis players in the sporting nation of Japan: Eleven local heroes were represented in the 16-man tableau of the qualification, i.e. a little less than three quarters. Of the four places in the main draw, three went to the Japanese: Yuta Shimizu (who, after all, was able to defeat Nicolas Jarry and Max Purcell), Sho Shimabukuro and Rio Noguchi.
No exceptional talent in sight
Hiroki Moriya slipped into the main draw as a lucky loser, where he won against Shimizu at the start. As did Noguchi against Ramkumar Ramanathan, the only non-Japanese to survive the qualifiers. However, Rio Noguchi (currently number 291 in the world) and Yuta Shimizo (number 451), both aged 23, are two of the younger locals to have attacked in Tokyo. Taro Daniel, alongside Nishioka the only current top 100 player in Japan, also has 29 years of age.
An exceptional talent like Kei Nishikori is not in sight, neither a well-occupied 32 grid with a total of nine Japanese nor Yoshihito Nishioka's victory in Seoul. Maybe the old master has to do it himself again.