Kei Nishikori’s career has been plagued by consistent physical issues that prevented him from winning as much as his talent would merit, but he will still go down in history as one of the best deciding set players of all-time. Overall, he has the third best deciding set record of all-time and when it comes to the best-of-five format alone he has an incredible 29-8 record after his latest victory in the Australian Open against Thiago Monteiro, which saw him come back from 0-2 down in sets for the fifth time in his career.
Lacking the physical attributes, namely the power, to consistently overwhelm his opponents, when he is fit Nishikori’s execution in clutch situations tends to be phenomenal, even long after his prime has ended. He has beaten pretty much every top player in memorable deciding sets and has plenty of iconic fifth set victories in Slams. While his body didn’t allow him to maximize his potential, he will certainly go down in history as one of the most talented shotmakers the sport has been and one of the best deciding set players of all-time.
At 35 years of age with a body battered by countless injuries, Nishikori is still showing some exquisite tennis and will be looking to make a run Down Under. In the second round, he is facing Tommy Paul, who survived a long five-setter himself in the first round. With Nishikori, there’s always big question marks regarding his body but if he is fit he can certainly challenge the world #11 head on and have a very serious chance to start a run here. One thing is certain: if the match goes the distance, you would almost always favor Nishikori to be the one holding his nerve and executing better in key moments down the stretch, and this is the match that definitely has the potential to go the full distance.
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
