Kei Nishikori - a Samurai ready to graduate?

The famed Samurai of Japan may have laid their glistening swords to rest more than a century ago, but the richly elegant traditions of those  invincible warriors are flourishing as ever at the practiced hands of their hardworking descendants. Kei Nishikori presented some evidence of this at the Sony Open tennis event in Miami where he finally produced the kind of game that suggests he may be ready to graduate into the league of the elite men in tennis.

Kei Nishikori of Japan plays a backhand against Roger Federer of Switzerland during their quarter final round match during day 10 at the Sony Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 26, 2014 in Key Biscayne, Florida.

Kei Nishikori, schooled at the IMG Bollettieri Academy on the American East coast of Florida, saw his sun rise in those very confines. The 24-year-old strung together a troika of victories to suggest that the young Japanese is slowly but surely coming to terms with the immense potential of his well honed game.

In the past, Nishikori has been guilty of some wildly undulating tennis – brilliant one minute and bemusing the next. With the Japanese surrendering some close contests in the past, many were wondering if a ticket into the elite echelons of tennis might elude the promising star. Nishikori answered his critics with a resounding performance that could well have set the platform that catapults the young man into the top 10 of tennis in the not too distant future.

The 21st ranked man has enjoyed great success in matches that have gone the distance, but has surrendered tamely in some of the biggest matches of his career. His 36-84 record in matches where he has lost the first set serve as a grim reminder of Nishikori’s fragility despite being hugely talented.

All of that seemed to change this week, as he scored hard earned victories, first over Grigor Dimitrov before following it up with successes over David Ferrer and Roger Federer to reach only his second ATP Masters 1000 semifinal. Tragically for the Japanese, he was forced to withdraw from his match against Novak Djokovic due to a strained groin. The injury denied us the opportunity to witness the young man test himself against the world No.2 and explore if had the commitment and belief needed to sustain a good run and walk it to a logical closure.

But in the blistering forehands and a rather steadier quiver of serves, there were compelling signs of Nishikori finally realizing some dreams. Most importantly, there was a stronger spirit that underlined the effort, and in it lay the clinching evidence of the Japanese probably making the turn.

Nishikori was riding a crest of confidence that came from his successful title defence in Memphis, but was handed a rather tough draw at the Sony Open in Miami. The Japanese star made light of it though, working his way to a hard fought victory past another promising talent of his generation – Grigor Dimitrov.

If many thought the quality of tennis was outstanding in that encounter, more was to come from the Japanese, much to the delight of his bulging band of fans. In what might yet be one of the most definitive efforts of his still nascent career, Nishikori provided evidence of his growing maturity as a player.

The 24-year-old duelled with David Ferrer in the quarters of the Miami Masters in an intense affair that drenched the court in a sustained bout of excitement. There were six breaks of serve in the first set, as it swung back and forth, undulating with the Florida wind. Ferrer worked his way back from a 1-4 deficit, recovering from a double break of serve.

And though Nishikori broke again in the ninth, he failed to close out the set on his own serve in the next game. Admirably, Nishikori stayed composed amidst the chaos against an opponent renowned for his own doggedness, even when he was down a couple of set points in the breaker. Eventually,  the world No.4 relented to let go on the 16th point in the engaging tie-breaker.

The mini-battle had lasted nearly 80 minutes and it appeared to take a toll on the fragile mind of Nishikori. Half an hour later, much of the euphoria in his camp had dissipated as Ferrer turned the tide to dominate and capture the second set. It appeared that the Spaniard might march towards his fourth victory in six matches against the Japanese.

Nishikori had succumbed to straight sets defeats in their two previous encounters – in Melbourne and Miami last year – and another loss seemed the most likely outcome. When he surrendered a break in the first game of the third set, his fans wore a look of resignation on their grim visage.

But in a stunning reversal of fortunes, Nishikori broke Ferrer twice in a row to come back to life after being as flat as a mat for the better part of an hour. And though Nishikori surrendered the advantage immediately, it was obvious that he entered the decisive breaker without giving too much away to his higher ranked opponent.

And the young man’s new found resolve manifested itself, when Ferrer won five of six points to gain control of the breaker. Nishikori raced across the court like a Samurai reborn as he quelled not one, but four straight match points to frustrate Ferrer.

As he won the last three points to take the galactic duel 11-9 in the breaker, it was obvious that the young man was eager to write the next chapters of his tennis career. But a sterner test lay ahead, just around the bend from this bellicose triumph.

Nishikori had to deal with Roger Federer immediately after that three hour six minute effort over the fourth ranked player, his 10th career victory over a top 10 player. It is never easy to replicate a stellar effort in the match immediately following an important victory.

When Nishikori lost the first set to Federer and was down a break twice in the second set to his seasoned opponent, the result seemed a formality. But the impressive young man, kept his wits about him as he worked his way back before turning the tables at the fag end of the set.

Soon the packed stadium was captivated by the belief and resilience of the young man who was awash in the belief that he belonged among the elite. As he went toe to toe with the maestro, it was obvious he would not settle for anything less than a victory.

As Federer served to stay alive, Nishikori pounced upon him with gay abandon to earn three match points. Affirmation was close and the Japanese embraced his graduation into the league of  elite men without too much hesitation.

In the ability to sustain his effort through the length of those three matches, Nishikori may have provided the most compelling evidence yet of his desire and willingness to translate his talent into something concrete and create a body of work that might earn him lasting respect.

A lot of column space has been spent on the involvement of Ivan Lendl with Andy Murray, Boris Becker with Novak Djokovic and Stefan Edberg with Federer. If Nishikori continues to explore the limits of his immense talent in this fashion, we could also begin to hear a lot about the influence that a certain Michael Chang is having on Nishikori as the season develops.