Sep 5

WIT Life #274: Air K in U.S. Open Semis!

WIT Life is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03).  She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends along with her own observations.

The U.S. Open, one of tennis’s four Grand Slams held right here in Queens, is one of my favorite annual events.  This year’s tournament is even more special due to the advancement of 24-year old Japanese player Kei Nishikori to the semifinals!  In doing this he became the first Japanese man to reach the U.S. Open semis in almost a century.  Tomorrow afternoon he will face Novak Djokovic in this match, and a win would give him a potential meeting with Roger Federer in the finals (the other semi features Federer vs. Marin Cilic).  In less than two days apart, Nishikori played two grueling 5-set matches in both the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals.  The former concluded at 2:26 a.m., tying the record for the latest finishing match at the Open!

One would expect Nishikori’s huge total match time to have taken a toll on his fitness, but his energy level still seems to be high, as is his confidence.  When recently interviewed by the Japanese press, his comment was along the lines of him saying he’s unbeatable at this point, and I hope his words prove to be true.  I wrote here about his showing in previous U.S. Opens, but his chances look the best this year.  Ganbare Air K!


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