New York – Kei Nishikori’s upset win over Novak Djokovic for a place in the final of the US Open should prove to be a win-win situation for Japanese clothing and fashion giant Uniglo, sponsor of both players.
Nishikori became the first Asian man to reach a grand slam semi-final with his 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 defeat of the world number one Serb.
Even from the depths of defeat, the commercially savvy Djokovic could sense the joy in the sponsor’s eyes and for tennis in Japan in general.
“This is definitely huge for Japan. It’s a big country, over 100 million people. This can definitely be a great encouragement for tennis in that country.
“Kei’s been around for last couple of years, he’s been having a lot of success. But playing the finals of a Grand Slam and now fighting for title is definitely something different.
“He has gotten to another level, and I’m sure that people will praise him.”
Uniglo signed Djokovic to a long-term contract after years of backing Nishikori, who went to Florida a decade ago as a 14-year-old tennis hope to learn his craft in Florida.
Hingis back in game
A few weeks from her 34th birthday, former teenaged grand slam winner Martin Hingis has found a new lease on tennis life after she and Italian Flavia Pennetta played the women’s doubles final at the US Open.
While the pair lost to Russian Ekaterina Makarova and Elena
Vesnina 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, the thrill of competition has lit another fire in Swiss Hingis, who played the Eastbourne grass final with her new partner as well as winning Miami last March with German Sabine Lisicki.
“We definitely had our chances, but if you had asked me to sign a paper to be in the finals, I would probably accept it with my eyes closed. When you’re that close of course you want to win,” she said.
“We beat them before. It’s not like we didn’t have a chance. We showed that we can beat the best doubles teams out there today again, but I felt like the juice ran out a little bit at the end. To push a little bit more, to have a little bit more energy like we had in the beginning of the tournament, I think at the end it was a little bit they were closer, they were more aggressive. Yeah, they pushed more.”
The team is planning an Asian assault in the coming weeks, entering WTA events in Wuhan and Beijing, and possibly Tokyo.
“Hopefully we will have more opportunities in the near future. We’ll go to Asia and try to do our best there, and then next year there is again four Grand Slams.
Hingis said that she is playing for personal satisfaction and will not be making any singles return. “Today I don’t have to prove anything to anyone, but definitely there is so many nice tournaments still this year.
“It hasn’t finished yet. There is, yeah, next season. I’m looking forward to it already now.” – Sapa-dpa