116-557: Kei Nishikori ( 錦織 圭 , Nishikori Kei , [ɲiɕi̥koꜜɾi keꜜː] ; born 29 December 1989) is a Japanese professional tennis player. He is the first and only Japanese men's player in the Open Era to have been ranked in the top five in singles and the second male in history after Jiro Sato . He reached his career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 in March 2015. He has won six ATP Tour 500 titles, six ATP Tour 250 titles and
232-536: A felt coating. Traditionally white, the predominant colour was gradually changed to optic yellow in the latter part of the 20th century to allow for improved visibility. Tennis balls must conform to certain criteria for size, weight, deformation , and bounce to be approved for regulation play. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) defines the official diameter as 65.41–68.58 mm (2.575–2.700 in). Balls must weigh between 56.0 and 59.4 g (1.98 and 2.10 oz). Tennis balls were traditionally manufactured in
348-409: A racket and balls. The components of a tennis racket include a handle, known as the grip, connected to a neck which joins a roughly elliptical frame that holds a matrix of tightly pulled strings. For the first 100 years of the modern game, rackets were made of wood and of standard size, and strings were of animal gut . Laminated wood construction yielded more strength in rackets used through most of
464-430: A tennis racket strung with a cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court . The object is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. If a player is unable to return the ball successfully, the opponent scores a point . Playable at all levels of society and at all ages, tennis can be played by anyone who can hold
580-479: A 73–37 win–loss record in singles and 53–31 in doubles, achieving a combined ranking of No. 7 in the world in July 2006. Junior Grand Slam results – Singles: Australian Open: QF ( 2006 ) French Open: QF ( 2006 ) Wimbledon: 1R ( 2005 ) US Open: 3R ( 2005 ) Junior Grand Slam results – Doubles: Australian Open: SF ( 2006 ) French Open: W ( 2006 ) Wimbledon: A (-) US Open: 1R ( 2005 ) Nishikori began
696-542: A best-of-five, wins the match. Only in the final sets of matches at the Olympic Games and Fed Cup are tiebreaks not played. In these cases, sets are played indefinitely until one player has a two-game lead, occasionally leading to some remarkably long matches . In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the end of the match with the well-known phrase " Game, set, match " followed by the winning person's or team's name. A game point occurs in tennis whenever
812-529: A boxed set which included a net, poles, rackets, balls for playing the game – and most importantly you had his rules. He was absolutely terrific at marketing and he sent his game all over the world. He had very good connections with the clergy, the law profession, and the aristocracy and he sent thousands of sets out in the first year or so, in 1874." The world's oldest annual tennis tournament took place at Leamington Lawn Tennis Club in Birmingham in 1874. This
928-627: A call from the server to his opponent. It was popular in England and France, although the game was only played indoors, where the ball could be hit off the wall. Henry VIII of England was a big fan of this game, which is now known as real tennis . An epitaph in St Michael's Church, Coventry , written c. 1705 , read, in part: Here lyes an old toss'd Tennis Ball: Was racketted, from spring to fall, With so much heat and so much hast, Time's arm for shame grew tyred at last. During
1044-404: A career-high of world No. 30, breaking the previous Japanese mark of No. 46, set by Shuzo Matsuoka in July 1992. In the 2011 Swiss Indoors Basel tournament, Nishikori defeated an ailing world No. 1 Novak Djokovic to reach the final, coming back from a 4–5, 0–30 deficit in the second set. The win was only Djokovic's fourth loss of the season, second loss in a completed match, and first loss of
1160-554: A completed match on a non-clay surface. Nishikori was defeated in the final by Roger Federer . On the heels of the victory, Nishikori was granted special exemption into the 2011 BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, and achieved a ranking of world No. 24. Nishikori started the season at the Brisbane International , where he lost in the second round to Marcos Baghdatis . At the 2012 Australian Open , Nishikori came back from
1276-557: A doubles team. The single player gets to utilize the alleys normally reserved only for a doubles team. Conversely, the doubles team does not use the alleys when executing a shot. The scoring is the same as for a regular game. This format is not sanctioned by any official body. "Australian doubles", another informal and unsanctioned form of tennis, is played with similar rules to the Canadian doubles style, only in this version, players rotate court position after each game, each player taking
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#17328025167511392-529: A first round loss to Jack Sock in straight sets. Nishikori then played in the BNP Paribas Masters and reached the semifinals, defeating Tommy Robredo , Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and David Ferrer , each in three sets. However, he was ousted by Novak Djokovic in straight sets. This semifinal appearance guaranteed his berth for his ATP World Tour Finals debut. In his first Year-End ATP Finals , Nishikori defeated Andy Murray and David Ferrer , but
1508-571: A group of American and French tennis players playing exhibition matches to paying audiences. The most notable of these early professionals were the American Vinnie Richards and the Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen . Players turned pro would no longer be permitted to compete in the major (amateur) tournaments. In 1968, commercial pressures and rumours of some amateurs taking money under the table led to
1624-580: A joint personal best by progressing to the 2nd round where he lost in 5 sets in Michaël Llodra . Bogomolov retired at the end of 2014. His final match was a straight sets loss to Tatsuma Ito in the second round of qualifying at the 2014 US Open . Bogomolov was married to American tennis player Ashley Harkleroad . The two split up in the fall of 2006 after less than two years, and divorced. "I think we were too young to be married," Harkleroad said. "And I think he's better off without me." [2] He
1740-545: A racket, including wheelchair users . The original forms of tennis developed in France during the late Middle Ages . The modern form of tennis originated in Birmingham , England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis . It had close connections to various field (lawn) games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport today called real tennis . The rules of modern tennis have changed little since
1856-413: A sequence of games played with service alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria. Typically, a player wins a set by winning at least six games and at least two games more than the opponent. If one player has won six games and the opponent five, an additional game is played. If the leading player wins that game, the player wins the set 7–5. If the trailing player wins
1972-492: A sequence of sets. The outcome is determined through a best of three or five sets system. On the professional circuit, men play best-of-five-set matches at all four Grand Slam tournaments, Davis Cup, and the final of the Olympic Games and best-of-three-set matches at all other tournaments, while women play best-of-three-set matches at all tournaments. The first player to win two sets in a best-of-three, or three sets in
2088-525: A set down to defeat sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, where he was then defeated by fourth seed Andy Murray . Nishikori was the first Japanese male player to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 80 years. Nishikori made it to the quarterfinals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships after beating Belgian Olivier Rochus in three sets. In
2204-454: A solicitor, and his friend Augurio Perera developed a game that combined elements of racquets and the Basque ball game pelota , which they played on Perera's croquet lawn in Birmingham , England. In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first tennis club on Avenue Road, Leamington Spa . This is where "lawn tennis" was used as the name of an activity by a club for
2320-628: A tennis court at the Staten Island Cricket Club at Camp Washington, Tompkinsville, Staten Island , New York. The first American National championship was played there in September 1880. An Englishman named O.E. Woodhouse won the singles title, and a silver cup worth $ 100, by defeating Canadian I. F. Hellmuth . There was also a doubles match which was won by a local pair. There were different rules at each club. The ball in Boston
2436-459: A turn at playing alone against the other two. As such, each player plays doubles and singles over the course of a match, with the singles player always serving. Scoring styles vary, but one popular method is to assign a value of 2 points to each game, with the server taking both points if he or she holds serve and the doubles team each taking one if they break serve. Wheelchair tennis can be played by able-bodied players as well as people who require
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#17328025167512552-576: A wheelchair for mobility. An extra bounce is permitted. This rule makes it possible to have mixed wheelchair and able-bodied matches. It is possible for a doubles team to consist of a wheelchair player and an able-bodied player (referred to as "one-up, one-down"), or for a wheelchair player to play against an able-bodied player. In such cases, the extra bounce is permitted for the wheelchair users only. Alex Bogomolov Jr. Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bogomolov Jr. ( Russian : Александр Александрович «Алекс» Богомолов ; born April 23, 1983), nicknamed Bogie ,
2668-405: Is a let or net service , which is void, and the server retakes that serve. The player can serve any number of let services in a point and they are always treated as voids and not as faults. A fault is a serve that falls long or wide of the service box, or does not clear the net. There is also a "foot fault" when a player's foot touches the baseline or an extension of the centre mark before the ball
2784-546: Is a Russian-American retired professional tennis player. Born in Moscow, Russia , the 5' 10" Bogomolov's father, Alex Sr., was a Soviet tennis coach who worked with Larisa Neiland , Yevgeny Kafelnikov , and Andrei Medvedev . In 1998 he won the USTA National Boys' 16 Championships, defeating Andy Roddick in the final. After losing in the first round of his first Grand Slam appearance at Wimbledon, Bogomolov
2900-598: Is a popular worldwide spectator sport. The four Grand Slam tournaments (also referred to as the majors) are especially popular and are considered the highest level of competition for the sport. These tournaments are the Australian Open , played on hardcourts ; the French Open , played on red clay courts ; Wimbledon , played on grass courts ; and the US Open , also played on hardcourts. Additionally, tennis
3016-572: Is acknowledged that this stereotype still exists). In 1954, Van Alen founded the International Tennis Hall of Fame , a nonprofit museum in Newport, Rhode Island. The building contains a large collection of tennis memorabilia as well as a hall of fame honouring prominent members and tennis players from all over the world. Part of the appeal of tennis stems from the simplicity of equipment required for play. Beginners need only
3132-482: Is called the doubles alley, playable in doubles play. The line that runs across the centre of a player's side of the court is called the service line because the serve must be delivered into the area between the service line and the net on the receiving side. Despite its name, this is not where a player legally stands when making a serve. The line dividing the service line in two is called the centre line or centre service line. The boxes this centre line creates are called
3248-434: Is hit. If the second service, after a fault, is also a fault, the server double faults , and the receiver wins the point. However, if the serve is in, it is considered a legal service. A legal service starts a rally , in which the players alternate hitting the ball across the net. A legal return consists of a player hitting the ball so that it falls in the server's court, before it has bounced twice or hit any fixtures except
3364-519: Is not played, the set is referred to as an advantage set , where the set continues without limit until one player leads by a two-game margin. A "love set" means that the loser of the set won zero games, colloquially termed a "jam donut" in the US. In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the winner of the set and the overall score. The final score in sets is always read with the winning player's score first, e.g. "6–2, 4–6, 6–0, 7–5". A match consists of
3480-417: Is often the same width as the others. The players or teams start on opposite sides of the net. One player is designated the server , and the opposing player is the receiver . The choice to be server or receiver in the first game and the choice of ends is decided by a coin toss before the warm-up starts. Service alternates game by game between the two players or teams. For each point, the server starts behind
3596-422: Is unusual in that it is played on a variety of surfaces. Grass , clay , and hard courts of concrete or asphalt topped with acrylic are the most common. Occasionally carpet is used for indoor play, with hardwood flooring having been historically used. Artificial turf courts can also be found. The lines that delineate the width of the court are called the baseline (farthest back) and the service line (middle of
Kei Nishikori - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-478: The 2008 Wimbledon Championships on 23 June 2008 ended in a first-round forfeiture to French player Marc Gicquel . Suffering from an abdominal muscle strain, Nishikori retired after the second set. In August, he entered the Beijing Olympics on a wildcard. There, he lost in the first round to Rainer Schüttler of Germany. Nishikori made his debut at the US Open , defeating 29th seeded Juan Mónaco in
3828-454: The 2011 Farmers Classic , Bogomolov was defeated by Ernests Gulbis in the semifinals, 2–6, 6–7. In the first round of the Western & Southern Open he defeated Robby Ginepri 6–4, 6–3 . After defeating an out-of-sorts world no. 10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6–3, 6–4 in the second round, he faced a rematch with Andy Murray in the third, this time losing 2–6, 5–7. At the US Open , he lost in
3944-485: The 2015 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell where he reached the final after beating Teymuraz Gabashvili , Santiago Giraldo , Roberto Bautista Agut and Martin Kližan . He successfully defended his title by beating Pablo Andújar in the final in two sets to win his ninth career title on the tour. At the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open , Nishikori was granted a first-round bye and proceeded by defeating David Goffin in three tough-sets in
4060-418: The 2015 Brisbane International doubles finals with his partner Alexandr Dolgopolov but lost in straight sets. Nishikori equalled his best record yet in the Australian Open by reaching the quarterfinals for the second time in his career, dropping only two sets along the way, but he was beaten in straight sets by defending champion Stan Wawrinka . In February, Nishikori won his eighth singles title and became
4176-529: The Citi Open . He reached the quarterfinals only to be beaten by Richard Gasquet for the fifth time in his career in straight sets. Nishikori reached his first Grand Slam final at the 2014 US Open . He beat Wayne Odesnik , Pablo Andújar , Leonardo Mayer and then world No. 6 Milos Raonic in a marathon five-set match that lasted until 2:26 am, tying the record for late finishes at the US Open en route to
4292-540: The Czech Republic . Nishikori returned to action at the end of April, in Barcelona, winning the final against Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in two sets. On 10 May, Nishikori made history by reaching the final of Madrid Open , his first Masters 1000 tournament final. Nishikori beat David Ferrer in three sets in the semifinal, and faced world No. 1 and defending champion Rafael Nadal in the final. Nishikori won
4408-601: The French Championships date to 1891, although until 1925 they were open only to tennis players who were members of French clubs. Thus, Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open and the Australian Open (dating to 1905) became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis. Together, these four events are called the Majors or Slams (a term borrowed from bridge rather than baseball ). In 1913,
4524-553: The Japan Open Tennis Championships , he made it to the round of 16, before losing to Frenchman Richard Gasquet . Nishikori was given a wildcard for the Stockholm Open , where he made it to his second ATP level semifinal of the year, despite playing with a knee injury. He received a walkover in his quarterfinal match against Mario Ančić , who had to withdraw due to illness. In the semifinals, he
4640-548: The Summer Olympics , Nishikori lost to Argentina's Juan Martín del Potro in the quarterfinals. He and Go Soeda lost in the first round of the men's doubles. In Toronto, he lost his first match (after a first-round bye) to Sam Querrey . He did better in Cincinnati, making it to the third round before being defeated by Stan Wawrinka , who ended up a semifinalist in the event. Nishikori had also lost to Wawrinka in
4756-578: The World Covered Court Championships for indoor courts were awarded annually; Sweden, France, Great Britain, Denmark, Switzerland and Spain each hosted the tournament. At a meeting held on 16 March 1923 in Paris, the title "World Championship" was dropped and a new category of "Official Championship" was created for events in Great Britain, France, the US and Australia – today's Grand Slam events. The impact on
Kei Nishikori - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-443: The 1890s. Two exceptions are that until 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tiebreak in the 1970s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic review technology coupled with a point-challenge system, which allows a player to contest the line call of a point, a system known as Hawk-Eye . Tennis is played by millions of recreational players and
4988-530: The 18th and early 19th centuries, as real tennis declined, new racket sports emerged in England. The invention of the first lawn mower in Britain in 1830 is believed to have been a catalyst for the preparation of modern-style grass courts, sporting ovals, playing fields, pitches, greens, etc. This in turn led to the codification of modern rules for many sports, including lawn tennis, most football codes, lawn bowls and others. Between 1859 and 1865, Harry Gem ,
5104-406: The 20th century until first metal and then composites of carbon graphite, ceramics, and lighter metals such as titanium were introduced. These stronger materials enabled the production of oversized rackets that yielded yet more power. Meanwhile, technology led to the use of synthetic strings that match the feel of gut yet with added durability. Under modern rules of tennis, the rackets must adhere to
5220-513: The French Open in 82 years by beating Teymuraz Gabashvili . He then played home favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga , but eventually lost in five set. Nishikori opened his grass-court season by participating in the Halle Open where he reached the semifinals, only to retire in his match against Andreas Seppi down 1–4 in the first set due to his calf injury which he attained in his quarterfinal match. Nishikori decided to play Wimbledon, and he reached
5336-609: The Gotham Tennis Academy. In July 2009 at the Hall of Fame Championships, he defeated Arnaud Clément of France, 1–6, 6–3, 6–4. In 2011 Bogomolov won his first Challenger title in three years in Champaign-Urbana over Amer Delić , 5–7, 7–6, 6–3. That same year Bogomolov defeated Andy Murray 6–1, 7–5, in the second round of the Miami Masters 1000 but lost to John Isner in the third round. At
5452-643: The IOC decided to reintroduce tennis as a full-medal sport at Seoul in 1988. The Davis Cup , an annual competition between men's national teams, dates to 1900. The analogous competition for women's national teams, the Fed Cup , was founded as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the ITF. In 1926, promoter C. C. Pyle established the first professional tennis tour with
5568-666: The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF), now the International Tennis Federation (ITF), was founded and established three official tournaments as the major championships of the day. The World Grass Court Championships were awarded to Great Britain. The World Hard Court Championships were awarded to France; the term "hard court" was used for clay courts at the time. Some tournaments were held in Belgium instead. And
5684-547: The Japan Open in its 41-year history. Nishikori started the year by playing the Brisbane International and reached the semifinals before retiring to Andy Murray because of a knee injury. Nishikori then reached the fourth round of the Australian Open before falling to fourth-seeded David Ferrer. Nishikori was bothered by a nagging knee injury throughout the match. Nishikori then won his third career title in
5800-463: The Olympics after the 1924 Games , but returned 60 years later as a 21-and-under demonstration event in 1984. This reinstatement was credited by the efforts of then ITF president Philippe Chatrier , ITF general secretary David Gray and ITF vice president Pablo Llorens, with support from International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch . The success of the event was overwhelming, and
5916-500: The QF and lost in three sets. Nishikori opened his French Open campaign by defeating both Paul-Henri Mathieu and Thomaz Bellucci in straight sets to advance to the third round. He advanced to the 4R for the second time in his career after his third round opponent, Benjamin Becker , withdrew due to a right shoulder injury. Nishikori became the first Japanese man to reach the quarterfinals of
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#17328025167516032-722: The Tokyo Sports Writers Club. Nishikori finished the year representing Japan at the Asian Hopman Cup competition in Bangkok , Thailand . Nishikori started the year by reaching the semifinals of the Miami challenger tournament. He then entered the Delray Beach tournament as a qualifier ranked world No. 244. He gained entrance to the main draw by defeating Nicolás Todero and Alex Bogomolov Jr. In
6148-525: The U.S. National Indoor Championships by defeating Feliciano López in straight sets. Seeded fifth, Nishikori finished the tournament without dropping a set in taking the winner's check, and moved up six ranking spots from No. 22 in the ATP rankings to No. 16. On 9 May, Nishikori defeated defending champion Roger Federer at the Madrid Open in the third round, but lost to Pablo Andújar in the quarters. In
6264-678: The US Open saw his singles ranking improve to world No.8. Nishikori began the Asian Swing by entering the Malaysian Open as first seed and won for a third season title, beating Julien Benneteau in two sets. Nishikori then went on to participate in the Rakuten Japan Open and won the title for the second time defeating Milos Raonic in the final. However, in the Shanghai Rolex Masters, he later suffered
6380-687: The United States and Europe. Although the process of producing the balls has remained virtually unchanged for the past 100 years, the majority of manufacturing now takes place in the Far East . The relocation is due to cheaper labour costs and materials in the region. Tournaments that are played under the ITF Rules of Tennis must use balls that are approved by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and be named on
6496-508: The abandonment of this distinction, inaugurating the Open Era , in which all players could compete in all tournaments, and top players were able to make their living from tennis. With the beginning of the Open Era, the establishment of an international professional tennis circuit, and revenues from the sale of television rights, tennis's popularity has spread worldwide, and the sport has shed its middle-class English-speaking image (although it
6612-561: The age of 13 at a grade 1 tournament in Japan. He won the 2004 title at the Riad 21 Tournament in Rabat, Morocco , and was a boys' singles quarter-finalist at the 2006 Junior French Open ; he partnering Emiliano Massa to win the boys' doubles title at that tournament. Nishikori won the 2007 Luxilon Cup held at the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open by defeating Michael McClune . As a junior, he compiled
6728-939: The age of five. He first won the All Japan Tennis Championships for Kids in 2001, and graduated from Aomori-Yamada High School. Nishikori moved to Bradenton, Florida to join the IMG Academy in 2004 at 14 years of age. Nishikori was previously coached by Brad Gilbert . Dante Bottini has been his current coach since December 2010. Former world No. 2 Michael Chang was added to his coaching team beginning in January 2014. Nishikori married his long-term girlfriend Mai Yamauchi in December 2020. His pastimes include soccer , golf, reading , and listening to music. Nishikori played his first junior match in April 2002 at
6844-454: The arm than most strings. Most synthetic strings are made from monofilament or multifiliament nylon strings. Monofilament strings are cheap to buy, and are used widely by many recreational level players for their all round performance, while multifilament strings are created to mimic natural gut more closely by weaving together fibres, but are generally more expensive than their monofilament counterparts. Polyester strings allow for more spin on
6960-432: The ball than any other string, due to their firm strings, while keeping control of the ball, and this is why many players use them, especially higher player ones. Kevlar tennis strings are highly durable, and are mostly used by players that frequently break strings, because they maintain tension well, but these strings can be stiff on the arm. Hybrid stringing is when a tennis racket is strung with two different strings for
7076-410: The baseline, between the centre mark and the sideline. The receiver may start anywhere on their side of the net. When the receiver is ready, the server will serve , although the receiver must play to the pace of the server. For a service to be legal, the ball must travel over the net without touching it into the diagonally opposite service box. If the ball hits the net but lands in the service box, this
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#17328025167517192-406: The baselines, dividing it into two equal ends. It is held up by either a cord or metal cable of diameter no greater than 0.8 cm ( 1 ⁄ 3 in). The net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts and 3 feet (0.91 m) high in the centre. The net posts are 3 feet (0.91 m) outside the doubles court on each side or, for a singles net, 3 feet (0.91 m) outside
7308-442: The chair umpire in tournament play. A break point occurs if the receiver, not the server , has a chance to win the game with the next point. Break points are of particular importance because serving is generally considered advantageous, with servers being expected to win games in which they are serving. A receiver who has one (score of 30–40 or advantage), two (score of 15–40) or three (score of love–40) consecutive chances to win
7424-424: The court). The short mark in the centre of each baseline is referred to as either the hash mark or the centre mark. The outermost lines that make up the length are called the doubles sidelines; they are the boundaries for doubles matches. The lines to the inside of the doubles sidelines are the singles sidelines, and are the boundaries in singles play. The area between a doubles sideline and the nearest singles sideline
7540-680: The doubles title at Little Rock. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami , Nishikori paired with triple French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten , but the two were defeated in the first round. Nishikori served as a hitting partner for Roger Federer at Wimbledon . After his ATP main draw debut in Los Angeles, Nishikori qualified for the Indianapolis Tennis Championships in July. He beat Alejandro Falla in
7656-775: The drug in an effort to boost his performance and so the usual two-year ban did not apply, however he lost the prize money and ranking points earned at several competitions during the relevant time period. In July 2008, he won the Shotgun 21 world championship at the Pacific Palisades Tennis Center , defeating John Isner in the semifinal, and Phillip King in the final, twice by the score of 21–20. In September Bogomolov beat world no. 83 Bobby Reynolds , 6–2, 4–6, 6–3, in Waco, Texas. After having surgery on his left wrist in late 2008, [1] Bogomolov began work at
7772-555: The final. During the March Masters, he reached the fourth round of the 2015 BNP Paribas Open for the first time in seven appearances but was upset by Feliciano López in straight sets in the fourth round. In the 2015 Miami Open , he defeated Mikhail Youzhny , Viktor Troicki and David Goffin all in straight sets losing only a total of 10 games to reach the quarterfinals. However, he was upset by an in-form John Isner in straight sets. Nishikori began his clay-court season at
7888-458: The final. He then played at the Masters 1000 event in Miami , where he was seeded 20th. Nishikori saved four match points before defeating 4th seed David Ferrer and advanced to the semifinals with a three-set win against 5th seed Roger Federer . Because of a left groin injury, he gave 2nd seed Novak Djokovic a walkover in the semifinals. He withdrew from Japan's Davis Cup quarterfinal against
8004-551: The first ever player to win the Memphis Open three times in a row, beating Kevin Anderson in straight sets in the final. He next participated in the 2015 Abierto Mexicano Telcel and reached the final, losing only a set to Kevin Anderson in the semifinals. By reaching the final, he earned enough ATP ranking points to move into a new career high world ranking of No. 4. However, he lost to David Ferrer in straight sets in
8120-625: The first round at Wimbledon , but lost in four sets. Nishikori then retired in his first-round match against Flavio Cipolla at the US Open . At the Shanghai Masters , Nishikori reached his first Masters 1000 semifinal. He defeated Robin Haase , fourth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga , and Santiago Giraldo , in the first three rounds. In the quarterfinals, Nishikori upset 12th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets. He lost to No. 2 Andy Murray in his first Masters 1000 semifinal. He reached
8236-403: The first round before falling to Julien Benneteau in the second. He qualified for the China Open in Beijing , losing in the first round to Ivan Ljubičić . In October, Nishikori received a wildcard entry to the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, where he lost in the first round to Zack Fleishman . He participated in the tournament's draw ceremony and was honored with an award from
8352-529: The first round but he lost his second match against Novak Djokovic . He lost to Richard Gasquet in the first round of the 2010 Aegon Championships . At Wimbledon, he played second seed Rafael Nadal in the first round and lost in straight sets. At the US Open, the Japanese No. 1 met Marin Čilić in the second round. Nishikori ousted the 11th seed in five sets to advance to the third round, his best Grand Slam tournament showing in 2010. Nishikori opened
8468-646: The first round of the Miami Masters to the Spanish player Albert Montañés . He faced James Blake again, this time at the River Oaks International tournament in Houston, Texas in the first round, but Kei lost in two sets. He went out in the third round of the 2008 Queen's Club Championships against Rafael Nadal in just over two hours. Facing the world No. 2, Nishikori played well in the match and showed promise. His first Grand Slam appearance at
8584-501: The first round of the 2013 US Open, Nishikori lost to a lower-ranked opponent, this time to world No. 179 Dan Evans in straight sets. Michael Chang became Kei Nishikori's coach in 2014. Nishikori made it to the fourth round in the Australian Open , but was dismissed by Rafael Nadal in straight sets without much trouble. He defended his title at the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships in Memphis, defeating Ivo Karlović in
8700-497: The first round to record his first ATP main-draw win. He followed that up with a three-set win over Michael Berrer , the eliminator of seventh seed Robby Ginepri , to advance to his first ATP quarterfinal. Although he lost to Dmitry Tursunov in two sets, Nishikori became the youngest player to reach the quarterfinals at Indianapolis since Boris Becker in 1985. Later that month, Nishikori headed to Washington, D.C. for his third career ATP event. He defeated Teymuraz Gabashvili in
8816-414: The first round, he defeated Florian Mayer due to a retirement in the second set. In the second round, Nishikori defeated Amer Delić , another qualifier. In the quarterfinals, he won against Bobby Reynolds . In the semifinals, he upset Sam Querrey . In the final, Nishikori upset top seed James Blake in three sets to become the first Japanese man in nearly 16 years to win an ATP event. Nishikori lost in
8932-450: The first round. He cruised to the third round, after downing Croatian Roko Karanušić . On 30 August 2008, he became the first Japanese player to reach the round of 16 at the US Open in 71 years, when he beat fourth seed David Ferrer in five sets in what was considered one of the tournament's major upsets. He lost his chance, however, to compete in the quarterfinals when he was beaten by 17th seed Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets. In
9048-407: The first set and led by a break in the second, but Nishikori sustained a back injury while leading 4–2 and was forced to retire at 3–0 in the third set having lost seven games in a row. The result saw him achieve a career-high #9 in ATP singles ranking. Nishikori lost in the first round of the French Open to Martin Kližan in three sets. Nishikori bounced back from the French Open first round loss in
9164-440: The first time. In Tennis: A Cultural History , Heiner Gillmeister reveals that on 8 December 1874, British army officer Walter Clopton Wingfield wrote to Harry Gem, commenting that he (Wingfield) had been experimenting with his version of lawn tennis "for a year and a half". In December 1873, Wingfield designed and patented a game which he called sphairistikè ( Greek : σφαιριστική , meaning "ball-playing"), and which
9280-401: The first two ATP Masters Series events of the year, Nishikori suffered a first-round loss at Indian Wells and a second-round loss in Miami . Nishikori then reached his second final at the 2011 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships . He was defeated by American wildcard Ryan Sweeting . At Roland Garros , Nishikori lost in the second round to Sergiy Stakhovsky . He faced Lleyton Hewitt in
9396-497: The following guidelines; The rules regarding rackets have changed over time, as material and engineering advances have been made. For example, the maximum length of the frame had been 32 inches (81 cm) until 1997, when it was shortened to 29 inches (74 cm). Many companies manufacture and distribute tennis rackets. Wilson, Head and Babolat are three of the most commonly used brands; however, many more companies exist. The same companies sponsor players to use these rackets in
9512-533: The four recipient nations to replace the "world championships" with "official championships" was simple in a general sense: each became a major nation of the federation with enhanced voting power, and each now operated a major event. The comprehensive rules promulgated in 1924 by the ILTF have remained largely stable in the ensuing 80 years, the one major change being the addition of the tiebreak system designed by Jimmy Van Alen . That same year, tennis withdrew from
9628-404: The game (tying the set 6–6) a tiebreak is played. A tiebreak, played under a separate set of rules, allows one player to win one more game and thus the set, to give a final set score of 7–6. A tiebreak game can be won by scoring at least seven points and at least two points more than the opponent. In a tiebreak, two players serve by 'ABBA' system which has been proven to be fair. If a tiebreak
9744-411: The game has break point , double break point or triple break point , respectively. If the receiver does, in fact, win their break point, the game is awarded to the receiver, and the receiver is said to have converted their break point. If the receiver fails to win their break point it is called a failure to convert. Winning break points, and thus the game, is also referred to as breaking serve , as
9860-526: The grass court season by reaching the semifinals of the 2014 Gerry Weber Open before losing to Roger Federer in straight sets. Nishikori participated in the Wimbledon Championships and made it to the fourth round after surviving a tight 5-setter against clay-court specialist Simone Bolelli , but eventually lost in the fourth round to Milos Raonic , despite winning the opening set. Nishikori opened his hard-court season by participating in
9976-611: The highest percentages of deciding-set wins in the Open Era and has the second-highest win percentage in matches extending to five sets, with a record of 28–8 and a win percentage of 77.78%. Nishikori was born in Matsue in Shimane Prefecture , Japan. His father, Kiyoshi, is an engineer, and his mother, Eri, is a piano teacher. He has an older sister, Reina, who graduated from college and works in Tokyo. He began playing tennis at
10092-565: The hopes that the company name will become better known by the public. There are multiple types of tennis strings, including natural gut and synthetic stings made from materials such as nylon , kevlar , or polyester . The first type of tennis strings available were natural gut strings, introduced by Babolat. They were the only type used until synthetic strings were introduced in the 1950s. Natural gut strings are still used frequently by players such as Roger Federer. They are made from cow intestines, and provide increased power, and are easier on
10208-553: The mains (the vertical strings) and the crosses (the horizontal strings). This is most commonly done with two different strings that are made of different materials, but can also be done with two different types of the same string. A notable example of a player using hybrid strings is Roger Federer, using natural gut strings in his mains and polyester strings in his crosses. Tennis balls were originally made of cloth strips stitched together with thread and stuffed with feathers. Modern tennis balls are made of hollow vulcanized rubber with
10324-450: The modern style. Louis was unhappy with playing tennis outdoors and accordingly had indoor, enclosed courts made in Paris "around the end of the 13th century". In due course this design spread across royal palaces all over Europe. In June 1316 at Vincennes , Val-de-Marne, and following a particularly exhausting game, Louis drank a large quantity of cooled wine and subsequently died of either pneumonia or pleurisy , although there
10440-399: The net. A player or team cannot hit the ball twice in a row. The ball must travel over or round the net into the other players' court. A ball that hits the net during a rally is considered a legal return as long as it crosses into the opposite side of the court. The first player or team to fail to make a legal return loses the point. The server then moves to the other side of the service line at
10556-408: The official ITF list of approved tennis balls. Tennis is played on a rectangular, flat surface. The court is 78 feet (23.77 m) long, and 27 feet (8.2 m) wide for singles matches and 36 ft (11 m) for doubles matches. Additional clear space around the court is required in order for players to reach overrun balls. A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with
10672-488: The player who is in the lead in the game needs only one more point to win the game. The terminology is extended to sets (set point), matches (match point), and even championships (championship point). For example, if the player who is serving has a score of 40–love, the player has a triple game point (triple set point, etc.) as the player has three consecutive chances to win the game. Game points, set points, and match points are not part of official scoring and are not announced by
10788-410: The player's scores equal at 40 apiece, the score is not called out as "40–40", but rather as "deuce". If at least three points have been scored by each side and a player has one more point than his opponent, the score of the game is "advantage" for the player in the lead. During informal games, advantage can also be called "ad in" or "van in" when the serving player is ahead, and "ad out" or "van out" when
10904-732: The previous year. After receiving a wildcard at Delray Beach, he was beaten in the first round by Benjamin Becker . Kei returned to the Challenger tour later in April with great success, reaching quarterfinals at both Baton Rouge and Tallahassee events, followed by a victory at the Savannah Challenger over Ryan Sweeting in the final. On 15 May 2010, he won the Sarasota open by defeating Brian Dabul , in three sets. Nishikori played in his first French Open. He rebounded from two sets down to defeat Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in
11020-517: The quarterfinals in Buenos Aires in February. On 7 October, eighth seed Nishikori won the Rakuten Japan Open in Tokyo against sixth seed Milos Raonic of Canada in three sets to win his first ATP 500 series title and second career ATP Tour title, lifting his world ranking from world No. 17 to a career-high of world No. 15. Nishikori's win was historic as he became the first Japanese man to win
11136-411: The quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, he scored a rare upset over Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka , who had thus far dominated their meetings to ensure that he would regain a top ten ranking. He also became the first Japanese man in 81 years to reach the semifinals at a Major since Jiro Sato in 1933 French Championships (now French Open) . Nishikori then defeated world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in
11252-449: The receiver has disrupted, or broken the natural advantage of the server. If in the following game the previous server also wins a break point it is referred to as breaking back . Except where tiebreaks apply, at least one break of serve is required to win a set (otherwise a two-game lead would never occur). Another, however informal, tennis format is called Canadian doubles . This involves three players, with one person playing against
11368-414: The receiving player is ahead; alternatively, either player may simply call out "my ad" or "your ad". The score of a tennis game during play is always read with the serving player's score first. In tournament play, the chair umpire calls the point count (e.g., "15–love") after each point. At the end of a game, the chair umpire also announces the winner of the game and the overall score. A set consists of
11484-552: The season in Chennai , where he upset two-time defending champion Marin Čilić in the first round, before falling in the quarterfinals to Janko Tipsarević . In the 2011 Australian Open , Nishikori reached the third round, defeating Fabio Fognini and Florian Mayer along the way. His run was ended in the third round by ninth seed Fernando Verdasco . After the third-round appearance in Melbourne, his ranking rose to No. 70. At
11600-425: The second round by beating Simone Bolelli in five sets for the second straight year but then withdrew from his second round match against Santiago Giraldo , due to his calf injury acting on him again during his first round match. Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles ) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles ). Each player uses
11716-495: The second round. He reached the semifinals after beating Roberto Bautista Agut and David Ferrer in straight sets respectively. He then lost to Andy Murray in the semifinals, and his ranking dropped to sixth as a result of failing to defend his points from the final in 2014. Nishikori was given a tough draw at the 2015 Italian Open but managed to reach the quarterfinal after beating Jiří Veselý and Viktor Troicki , both in straight sets. He faced world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in
11832-405: The semifinals to become the first Asian man ever to reach a Grand Slam tournament final. (As reference, an American male tennis player of Asian descent Michael Chang reached the final of Grand Slam to win French Open at the youngest age of Grand Slam history, and the finalist to be Runner up in both US Open and Australian Open .) In the final, Nishikori lost to Marin Čilić . Nishikori's run at
11948-404: The service boxes; depending on a player's position, they have to hit the ball into one of these when serving. A ball is out only if none of it has hit the area inside the lines, or the line, upon its first bounce. All lines are required to be between 1 and 2 inches (25 and 51 mm) in width, with the exception of the baseline which can be up to 4 inches (100 mm) wide, although in practice it
12064-417: The singles court on each side. The modern tennis court owes its design to Major Walter Clopton Wingfield . In 1873, Wingfield patented a court much the same as the current one for his stické tennis (sphairistike). This template was modified in 1875 to the court design that exists today, with markings similar to Wingfield's version, but with the hourglass shape of his court changed to a rectangle. Tennis
12180-468: The start of a new point. A game consists of a sequence of points played with the same player serving. A game is won by the first player to have won at least four points in total and at least two points more than the opponent. The running score of each game is described in a manner peculiar to tennis: scores from zero to three points are described as "love", "15", "30", and "40", respectively. If at least three points have been scored by each player, making
12296-544: The third round to John Isner , 6–7, 4–6, 4–6. At the end of the 2011 season he was named the ATP's most improved player after rising from no.166 in the ATP rankings at the beginning of 2011 to no. 33 at season's end. On December 1, the International Tennis Federation ruled him eligible to compete for Russia in the Davis Cup. In the 2012 Australian Open Bogomolov was seeded 32: his first ever Grand Slam seeding. He achieved
12412-868: The year in March with a wildcard entry to the Kyoto Challenger tournament in Kyoto , Japan, where he lost to Australian Robert Smeets in the round of 32 and just failed to qualify for the doubles tournament. In May, Nishikori qualified for the ITF Futures event in Mazatlán , Mexico, where he was victorious in the men's singles. A finalist in two USTA Pro Circuit events, Nishikori lost to Donald Young in Little Rock, Arkansas and Alex Bogomolov Jr. in Carson, California . He partnered with Young to win
12528-613: Was also suspicion of poisoning. Because of the contemporary accounts of his death, Louis X is history's first tennis player known by name. Another of the early enthusiasts of the game was King Charles V of France , who had a court set up at the Louvre Palace . It was not until the 16th century that rackets came into use and the game began to be called "tennis", from the French term tenez , which can be translated as "hold!", "receive!" or "take!", an interjection used as
12644-422: Was beaten by David Nalbandian in the first round of the 2001 US Open . In 2005, he was suspended for eight weeks after a positive doping test from the Australian Open . The banned substance found was salbutamol . Bogomolov admitted taking the substance through an inhaler to treat exercise-induced asthma and that he had not applied for a medical exemption. The tribunal decided he had not intentionally taken
12760-542: Was beaten by fourth seed Robin Söderling . Nishikori made a disappointing start to the season, losing to Jürgen Melzer in the first round of the Australian Open. On 25 March, Nishikori was named 2008 ATP Newcomer of the Year and became the first Asian player to win the award. He withdrew from the French Open, Wimbledon , and the US Open because of an injured right elbow. Nishikori made his comeback after his injury of
12876-402: Was defeated by Roger Federer in straight sets. With this result, he progressed through to the semifinals and faced Novak Djokovic , losing in three sets, thus ending the year at a career high world No. 5. Nishikori began the 2015 season by participating in the 2015 Brisbane International and reached the semifinals before being beaten by Milos Raonic in three tight-set tiebreaks. He reached
12992-993: Was larger than the one normally used in New York. On 21 May 1881, the oldest nationwide tennis organization in the world was formed, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association ) in order to standardize the rules and organize competitions. The US National Men's Singles Championship, now the US Open , was first held in 1881 at the Newport Casino , Newport, Rhode Island . The US National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887 in Philadelphia . Tennis also became popular in France, where
13108-522: Was one of the original Olympic sports , and has been consistently competed in the Summer Olympic Games since 1988 . Historians believe that the game's ancient origin lay in 12th-century northern France, where a ball was struck with the palm of the hand. Louis X of France was a keen player of jeu de paume ("game of the palm"), which evolved into real tennis , and became notable as the first person to construct indoor tennis courts in
13224-494: Was runner-up at the 2014 US Open , making him the first and only man representing an Asian country to reach a Grand Slam singles final. He also became the first man from Asia to qualify for the ATP Finals , and reached the semifinals in 2014 and 2016. In addition, Nishikori defeated Rafael Nadal to win the bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics , bringing Japan its first Olympic tennis medal in 96 years. He holds one of
13340-492: Was soon known simply as "sticky" – for the amusement of guests at a garden party on his friend's estate of Nantclwyd Hall , in Llanelidan , Wales. According to R. D. C. Evans, turfgrass agronomist , "Sports historians all agree that [Wingfield] deserves much of the credit for the development of modern tennis." According to Honor Godfrey, museum curator at Wimbledon, Wingfield "popularized this game enormously. He produced
13456-524: Was three years before the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club would hold its first championships at Wimbledon, in 1877. The first Championships culminated in a significant debate on how to standardise the rules. In the United States in 1874, Mary Ewing Outerbridge , a young socialite, returned from Bermuda with a sphairistikè set. She became fascinated by the game of tennis after watching British army officers play. She laid out
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