By Scoop Malinowski
Yoshihito Nishioka suffered a season ending injury at the Miami Open in 2017, wrecking his right knee while scrambling furiously defending a first set lead against Jack Sock. The Japanese lefty was ranked 58 in the world at the time, a career high ranking. He was at the top of his game.
Last year he returned and struggled to regain lost form and lost confidence. Last year at Miami Open he recorded a dazzling two set win against Alex Deminaur but weeks later lost in Sarasota Open qualies to unheralded Martin Cuevas in two sets.
Nishioka persevered though and won a title late in 2018, raising his ranking to 75 in the world.
This year, Nishioka appears to be on the verge of achieving his career best ranking sooner than later. With few points to defend from last year in the coming months, Nishioka is off to a good start this year. Though he lost to Grigor Dimitrov 63 64 last week in the first round in Brisbane, he won two qualifying matches in Sydney – 57 61 63 vs Jason Kubler and 63 75 vs Christian Garin – and a first round win over Ryan Harrison 64 62.
The five-foot-seven inch 23 year old has learned his knee not only has fully recovered but his electrifying form and confidence are also returning.
And this very special, unique tennis wizard, who defeated Tomas Berdych in Indian Wells from a 6-1 5-1 deficit and even extended Rafael Nadal to a first set tiebreaker in their very first meeting in Acapulco, could make a major splash in the biggest ATP and Grand Slam tournaments in 2019.
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1 2 Next »Hartt · January 8, 2019 at 1:26 pm
Am so glad to hear that Nishioka is back to playing well. There is something very appealing about this young player.
I will never forget when he injured his knee. That was a scary moment, especially when he tried to continue to play.
Scoop Malinowski · January 8, 2019 at 1:33 pm
He winning more and more matches now Hartt, he was very up and down last year, good wins followed by bad losses. But he has worked through that inconsistency and is ready to play his very best tennis. The best is yet to come from Nishioka, very good news for the sport, he’s a joy to watch.
Scoop Malinowski · January 8, 2019 at 1:36 pm
Nishioka returned one year ago and his ranking fell all the way to around 300. He had some protected ranking help but played a lot of challengers and challenger qualifying and finally little by little regained his ranking. Don’t be surprised if he reaches the top 40 this year.
q10 · January 8, 2019 at 8:53 pm
good to see yoshi doing well
maybe the nishikori effect is resurfacing?
Wayne Bradford · January 8, 2019 at 11:04 pm
Nishioka has talent but not sure he will do more than crack the top 20. That’s a bad loss from Harrison, whois falling down the rankings.
Bernard Tomic beats Sock and Kyrgios in Melbourne. He could be back on track while Kyrgios is still making excuses about his lack of game.
Isner loses to Fritz in what could mark a changing of the guard
Wayne Bradford · January 8, 2019 at 11:12 pm
Here is the crazy Tomic match point:
https://twitter.com/Adrian9Johnson6/status/1082844744651223040
catherine · January 9, 2019 at 1:25 am
Barty bts Halep SS – Simona a bit rusty no doubt but a good win for Ash. So the Sydney contenders narrow down on the women’s side.
Muguruza w/draws again, ill. I don’t think Garbine wants to play tennis.
catherine · January 9, 2019 at 1:40 am
Not power tennis from either player but some very nice volleying from Ashleigh. From another age – a classic volley, forehand and backhand.
I bet Simona was on the phone to Cahill straightaway.
Tomic – if he does well anywhere in the year it’s usually in Melbourne.
Michael in UK · January 9, 2019 at 3:33 am
Scoop, thank you for this reminder and update about Nishioka.
Another reason to be excited about the 2019 tennnis season!
And I see he just beat Andrei Rublev in Sydney, so is through to the quarter finals to play legend Diego Schwartzman.
De Minaur is also through to the quater finals, he has been looking tremendous this week, in my opinion.
On the women’s side, I will be watching out for Ekaterina Alexandrova, after she very nearly beat Sloane Stephens.
Michael in UK · January 9, 2019 at 5:44 am
Gosh I just saw Halep is out of Sydney, beaten by Ash Barty.
catherine · January 9, 2019 at 6:31 am
Michael – see above 🙂
Simona didn’t play badly – just didn’t get the breaks. She says no pain from her back. Ashleigh can spray the ball on occasion.
Sloane S playing another rock ‘n roll match – this time v Putintseva.
Michael In UK · January 9, 2019 at 7:12 am
Ah thanks Catherine, Interesting to read your comments re Halep.
catherine · January 9, 2019 at 7:21 am
What can we say about Sloane ? – out she goes, 6-0 3rd set. I watched some and she didn’t seem injured – at least not bodily.
Sigh of relief from Kerber who can’t beat Sloane, in form or out.
Chazz · January 9, 2019 at 12:36 pm
I have no inside info but am guessing Isner is on the path to retiring soon. He’s 33, turns 34 in April, and his wife had their first baby in September. I wonder how much drive he has to keep going through the grind of a tennis season. Regardless, that was a huge win for Fritz. He and Opelka are on the upswing and should have good years.
Tiafoe needs some wins because he will likely lose a lot of points by not equaling last year’s results at Delray and Estoril. He is in such good shape that I wouldn’t count him out of a 5 set match.
Harrison, QBall, Johnson and Isner are probably on the way down. A changing of the guard is happening soon. Young isn’t even in the picture anymore, he lost in 1R of qualies at AO.
Nishioka and de Minaur – it must be really frustrating to play against these energetic, talented young players. I’m guessing they are 1A and 1B for young players that others on tour least want to play.
Scoop Malinowski · January 9, 2019 at 1:33 pm
q10, Nishioka is a totally different player than Kei but no doubt inspired by his success.
Scoop Malinowski · January 9, 2019 at 1:36 pm
Wayne, I feel it’s a waste of time to even talk about the biggest waste of talent in tennis. It’s just the same old rubbish from this clown, enough is enough. Let him play the ATP circus clown, fall outside the top 100 and then let’s see what he’s made of.
Scoop Malinowski · January 9, 2019 at 1:42 pm
Tomic is one clever dude, love that sneak serve and will practice it. Tomic and the biggest waste of talent in sports had a dispute a few years ago when Tomic said the biggest waste of talent in sports faked an injury to get out of Davis Cup. Guess they mended that problem.
Scoop Malinowski · January 9, 2019 at 1:46 pm
Chazz, good point, it always looks bad when a veteran loses to a little undersized young guy. Nishioka and Deminaur are about the worst nightmare opponents, they fight to the finish and have uncanny weapons and counterpunching skills. One of the best matches of last year was watching Nishioka beat Deminaur in Miami 1R on court 1 with Hewitt in the house. Nishioka outclassed the Demon with some wizard like tennis.
Wayne Bradford · January 9, 2019 at 1:49 pm
Chazz, I agree with you that the American players you listed are on their way down. Isner made London last year so his career is complete; that’s the equivalent of winning a Slam sadly for a U.S. player.
Donald Young is also on the way out the door, what a horrible loss in the first round of qualifying. I really expected more out of his career so it’s a shame.
I expect Jack Sock to bounce back since he has so few points to defend but I don’t know if he can go farther than a Slam quarterfinal?
Tiafoe and Fritz do not look like major talents compared to the other young players in the world like Tsitsipas, Medvedev, etc. I can’t imagine any of the young Americans beating those players, much less Zverev or Thiem. Furthermore, the young Americans are handed wild cards and opportunities they don’t deserve. How is Tiafoe a two-time Laver Cup participant? He doesn’t deserve to be in that.
The U.S. men are in disarray. Fortunately, we have the women with Stephens and Keys leading the way with the Williams in their twilight plus a possible rising star in Dolehide.
Scoop Malinowski · January 9, 2019 at 2:17 pm
Isner is far from finished, he will terrorize the ATP for years more. Young won a few rounds at a Challenger last week then lost to Rubin in the semi. Kozlov lost in Columbus to JJ Wolfe.
catherine · January 9, 2019 at 2:19 pm
Wayne – not sure about the US women if Sloane and Madison have to lead the charge. Stephens has too many performances like today. Putintseva was running around like a little tank and Sloane wasn’t doing anything. People are starting to think she doesn’t care.
Dolehide’s a great whacker of the ball but I can’t see big results coming.
Chazz · January 9, 2019 at 2:25 pm
Wayne, Fritz beat Cilic at Indian Wells and Tiafoe took Federer to 6-4 in the 5th at the US Open. I think both are capable of becoming top 20 players if they improve in a couple areas. Can they win a Slam? That’s probably a little much to ask, but they are only 21 and 20 so who knows.
I think Sock will be interesting to watch because he might never get his edge back in singles. He might need a sports psychologist if he doesn’t already have one. You have to wonder if he might be headed towards the David Duval (golf) path. He had no solution for how to win a tennis match last year.
Scoop Malinowski · January 9, 2019 at 2:26 pm
Catherine, sometimes Stephens doesn’t care. She can be emotionally fired up but she can also be a zombie in smaller events. She picks her spots when to compete, or she just mails it in sometimes. Like it’s said in boxing, the great champion has trouble getting motivated for mediocre opposition.
Chazz · January 9, 2019 at 2:29 pm
Catherine, Stephens started out last year the same way, lost in 1R at the AO. Then at Roland Garros nearly won it but lost to Halep in the final. Keys on the other hand, who knows what’s going on with her. Injury? She hasn’t been doing much since the US Open SF loss to Osaka.
Dan Markowitz · January 9, 2019 at 4:19 pm
I agree with Scoop, geez, what’s happening to me agreeing with Scoop so often these days?, I think Izzie is not contemplating retirement. He keeps himself fit and he’s Dr. Ivo a few weeks shy of 40 rebounding nicely to no. 80.
I don’t have as high hopes for Opelka and definitely don’t think he will be a player eclipsing the top 50 this year. His game while huge is too hit and miss. Harry, Sandgren and SteveJo are all basically in the same boat, they’re good, but not that good. They’re professional and work hard, but top 30 for them is beyond their reach for the most part.
I think Fritz and Mmoh as I look at this young American group are the best choices for guys who one day might reach a slam semis. Donaldson might be too prone to injury and not powerful enough. He’s more like a poor man’s David Wheaton.
q10 · January 9, 2019 at 7:12 pm
Scoop, true that nishikori and nishioka are different players. It may be the case for most other countries, but I get the feeling in Japan is that players want others in their country to succeed on the court as well. e.g. nishikori said in Brisbane after his QF win that he had hoped to play his countryman Uchiyama instead of Chardy.
Sugita also did well for a short while before dipping again.
Scoop Malinowski · January 9, 2019 at 7:33 pm
q10, It’s interesting that the Japanese players are so exceedingly nice and polite. Maybe the nicest of all nations in tennis, along with the Swedes.
catherine · January 10, 2019 at 1:51 am
Norrie beats Fritz SS. Served better it seems but I didn’t see the match.
Chris Evert looks in her crystal ball and says everyone is terrified of Serena so she can win AO. Chris’ crystal ball can be a bit cloudy so we’ll see. She’s also pushing Sabalenka and all this hoo-ha might be the kiss of death for Aryna.
Kerber says she doesn’t care about balls or strings or anything. Have racquet, hit ball. Her new Stoic philosophy.
Angie’s playing Kvitova shortly and if Petra serves well she’ll probably win. Schuettler hasn’t solved the problem of Angie’s serve. And his short career as her coach he hasn’t watched her losing.
catherine · January 10, 2019 at 2:19 am
Ashleigh has the right approach: ‘I fear no one.’
Hartt · January 10, 2019 at 3:46 am
Bianca just beat Grammatikopoulou in SS in AO qualies. The first set was close, but Bianca ran away with the 2nd, taking it 6-1. There were no signs of the back problems she had in Auckland, and no wrapping on her leg, so that is a positive sign. She said her body was “a mess” in Auckland, despite her success against top players.
Bianca is a lot of fun to watch, because her game has something that is too rare these days – variety.
catherine · January 10, 2019 at 6:02 am
Good news about Bianca – she did pretty well in Auckland, considering.
Rain stops play in Sydney – Kvitova and Kerber 2-2 first set. This is going to run things tight going into AO.
Adidas show their new range – made from recycled plastic waste. Nice ocean colours. I did like the black though – very flattering.
catherine · January 10, 2019 at 6:04 am
What happens to last season’s outfits ? Do players just chuck them away ?
Hartt · January 10, 2019 at 7:43 am
I see Petra did beat Angie, so she is doing well early in the season. I hope she is as successful as last year, with the addition of a Slam title. 🙂
catherine · January 10, 2019 at 7:46 am
Well – Angie gets a rest before the Open and joins Simona and Sloane on the practice courts – out to Petra 4-6 1-6. That’s a miserable result.
Hartt · January 10, 2019 at 7:54 am
Speaking of Petra, this is what our resident WTA expert on Match Call Migrants wrote during the match: “Damn Petra is looking lean and mean! And she’s running like nobody’s business. Scary! Kerbie is in a funk right now.”
Although I feel badly for Kerbie, love to hear that about Petra. It sounds like not just “Good” Petra, but “Scary” Petra was on the scene. When that version of Kvitova is playing there isn’t much any opponent can do.
catherine · January 10, 2019 at 8:06 am
Hartt – we’re typing at the same time again – looks like Good Petra turned up and Angie hasn’t played anyone at that level for a while. She was slumping and sloping around at the back of the court just like it was 2017. I wonder if she knows she’s doing it and recognises the encouragement this gives to opponents.
Scoop Malinowski · January 10, 2019 at 8:17 am
haratt, Let’s hope that Greek woman Andreescu beat either changes her name or stays ranked outside the top 100, that name is an exercise to type. Andreescu has a lot of confidence right now.
Scoop Malinowski · January 10, 2019 at 8:19 am
Kvitova could be the favorite to win AO right now with these destructions of Sabalenka and Kerber as very serious messages to the field. Not surprised Norrie beat Fritz, he looked sensational in match one at Hopman beating Tsitsipas.
catherine · January 10, 2019 at 8:30 am
Petra is in a bubble when she’s on – you can tell by looking at her. She’s oblivious. Must be like playing a robot.
Angie wasn’t aggressive – after 4-2 and then losing the first she should’ve chucked the kitchen sink at Petra. But maybe she can’t play that way now.
‘tennis is bigger than winning or losing’ – if Angie really believed her own words and let the belief release her from pressure then she could turn into the role model she wants to be. Otherwise her mantra just sounds like an excuse.
Chazz · January 10, 2019 at 9:01 am
Norrie is playing really well, that’s a good win for him. Sandgren keeps winning, into the SF. He sure seems to like Australia. Is vegemite his secret to success?
Tsitsipas is in a bit of a rut, now loses to Seppi. Schwartzman narrowly beat Nishioka in a 3rd set tiebreaker, must have been a great match to watch. de Minaur keeps rolling.
Hartt · January 10, 2019 at 10:47 am
Scoop, I actually learned how to spell Grammatikopoulou while watching their match! It is a challenge and does require a lot of typing. 🙂
Hartt · January 10, 2019 at 12:06 pm
Time has a very interesting cover story on Naomi Osaka.
She comes across, as always, as a total delight.
Scoop Malinowski · January 10, 2019 at 1:07 pm
Chazz there’s been a few players who have scored their best success in Australia – Petr Korda, Jelena Dokic, Agassi, Bagdhatis, Tsonga, Fernando Gonzalez, Safin, Kostyk, something about Australia triggers the best out of certain players. Sandgren is adding himself to the list. Norrie was so impressive vs Tsitsipas in Hopman.
Scoop Malinowski · January 10, 2019 at 1:10 pm
Hartt, I am inspired by you, will spend two hours practicing and learning the correct spelling of this name 🙂
Scoop Malinowski · January 10, 2019 at 1:11 pm
Osaka is the most charismatic, likable personality in the WTA since maybe Li Na and before her, it’s hard to say. Everyone loves Naomi now since the class she showed at US Open.
catherine · January 10, 2019 at 1:26 pm
Hartt – I don’t want to sound mean but do you really think it’s a good idea for Naomi to be on the cover of Time at this point in her life ? I’d like to think she can deal with all the publicity but somewhere it must increase the pressure on her.
I just hope she can focus on the court and on her matches at the AO and not worry about expectations.
Scoop Malinowski · January 10, 2019 at 1:41 pm
She seems to be enjoying all the attention and handling it very well so far but she isn’t winning titles lately. Not sure Osaka has that kind of freak obsession it takes to stay on top and dominate.
catherine · January 10, 2019 at 3:16 pm
Scoop – that’s what I’ve been thinking – I suppose we’ll find out in time. And maybe Naomi will be happier that way, being good without the obsession.
Hartt · January 10, 2019 at 3:43 pm
Scoop, glad I could be an inspiration!
Regarding Naomi, perhaps it isn’t a great idea for her to be on the cover of Time at this point in her career, but I did enjoy the article, so I hope this kind of publicity does not have a detrimental effect on the youngster.
As far as her degree of motivation, of obsession, I think it is too early to tell. We will have a better idea of that by the end of this season.
Hartt · January 10, 2019 at 4:43 pm
There is an article about the terrific interview that Christina Macfarlane did with Federer for CNN. There have been many references to Roger breaking down when talking about Peter Carter, but the interview covered a wide range of topics, including his children and his relationship with Mirka. He said they had their first kiss at the 2000 Olympics when another athlete, a wrestler, told him to go for it. 🙂
Asked about which player from any time in the past that he’d like to face, and where, he said Borg at Wimbledon, and Christina asked him how the match would go.
Asked about retirement Fed said he’d like to go out on his own terms and mentioned Wimbledon as a possible place.
He also talked about his foundation (which has now helped 1 million children.) There is a lovely clip of his mother talking about how proud she is of Roger for starting the foundation when he was just 22, and what it has achieved.
The article ends with:
“The interview is over, but Federer doesn’t make the usual hurried exit of so many stars. Instead he stays on, alone, to talk off camera for an hour, signing tennis balls, reflecting on the year ahead. A class act — on and off the court.”
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/09/tennis/roger-federer-exclusive-interview-tennis-spt-intl/index.html