Even while recovering from the removal of a cyst from his foot last month, Kei Nishikori was so desperate to be on a tennis court that his joint coach, Dante Bottini, had to improvise. ‘He was sitting on a collapsible chair on the court because he couldn’t run and I was feeding him balls to hit for an hour,’ recalled Bottini after his charge had beaten Novak Djokovic to make tonight’s US Open final. Such dedication is why 24-year-old Japanese Nishikori is poised to become a superstar of Asian sport, and why he has long gone by the not entirely original nickname of Special Kei. Something special: Kei Nishikori, 24, has long gone by the not entirely original nickname of Special Kei . Preparation: Nishikori, the Japanese No 10 seed, practices in New York ahead of the US Open final . Ten years after arriving as a homesick boy at the renowned Nick Bollettieri/IMG Academy in Florida, he is in his first Grand Slam final and will start as favourite against the comparatively towering Marin Cilic. It is the first Grand Slam men’s final in nearly nine years not to feature one of the so-called ‘Big Four’ of Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. But neither of the two surprise finalists would have been top of the list to depose the established order. Cilic, 25, has spent most of his career on the periphery of the top 10, while the fear around Nishikori, the son of an engineer and a piano teacher, is that he is not physically equipped to make the very top. At 5ft 10in and weighing less than 11 stone his body has often failed to cope with the physical aspect of the modern game, although his natural talent has never been in question. He has always possessed an outstanding backhand and won his first ATP Tour title at Delray Beach as an 18-year-old. Subsequently the questions have not just surrounded his physique but his mentality, particularly when it came to facing the best players. Over the past week he has answered all of that with consecutive five-set wins over Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka, followed by Saturday’s semi-final against Djokovic, who he outlasted over four sets in brutal heat and humidity. Coming of age: Nishikori's beaten Milos Raonic, Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic en route to the final . Brad Gilbert, who formed part of his coaching set-up in 2011, describes him as ‘very quiet and shy’. His faltering mastery of English may have been a part of that, and Gilbert would email him tactical instructions for matches, rather than talk to him. The missing ingredient appears to have been the addition of French Open winner Michael Chang to his team, part of the trend set by Murray when he hired Ivan Lendl. Like Lendl, Chang has managed to get through to his charge in a way that did not happen before. ‘We get on great,’ said Chang. ‘With myself being Chinese and Kei Japanese there are cultural differences but also similarities because we are both Asian. If we are going out to eat we don’t have to say “Do you want Asian food?” It has been easy for us to adapt to one another.’ Nishikori missed several tournaments last month due to the cyst, but Chang believes that this has proved to be a blessing in disguise. ‘It wasn’t the best preparation but after three weeks off he arrived fresh and hungry. Some guys have a great summer but by the time the Open comes around they are tired. Support network: Nishikori has shone since Michael Chang took over as his coach . ‘I told him if he could get past the first two rounds anything could happen. I keep reminding him he has beaten everyone here, and not to be satisfied with what he has achieved already.’ Chang was a terrific fighter with lightning foot speed. Nishikori is also quick but his natural timing gives him more potent weapons than his coach ever had, despite his relative lack of size. It has led him to become easily the best player ever from Japan, which has always produced good female players but struggled much more on the men’s side. Their previous best of the modern era was Shuzo Matsuoka in the nineties, who is perhaps best remembered for suffering a spectacular bout of cramp that led to the rules being changed about on-court treatment. Nishikori would become the first Japanese man to win a tennis Major, and the commercial possibilities of that would be almost limitless. Either way, tennis is going to get its least predictable men’s Grand Slam champion since Juan Martin del Potro upset Federer at Flushing Meadows five years ago. Federer was phlegmatic after his straight-sets defeat by the hugely impressive Cilic, but this was a golden opportunity missed for him to add to his 17 Grand Slams. Nishikori has a 5-2 record over Cilic and has beaten him twice this year. Yet the Croatian has improved significantly and is an outstanding mover for his height, meaning that the Japanese can only be considered a marginal favourite. No pressure: Although towering over his opponent, Marin Cilic goes into the final as the underdog . Giant: 6ft 6in Cilic beat Roger Federer in straight sets to win his place in the final . KEI NISHIKORI . First round v Wayne Odesnik . 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 . Second round v Pablo Andujar . 6-4, 6-1, retired . Third round v Leonardo Mayer . 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 . Fourth round v (5) Milos Raonic . 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (6-8), 7-5, 6-4 . Quarter-final v (3) Stanislas Wawrinka . 3-6 7-5 7-6 (9-7) 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 . Semi-final v Novak Djokovic . 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 . MARIN CILIC . 1st round v Marcos Baghdatis . 6-3, 3-1 retired . 2nd round v Illya Marchenko . 7-6 (7-2), 6-2, 6-4 . 3rd round v (18) Kevin Anderson . 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 . 4th round v (26) Giles Simon . 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 . Quarter-final v (6) T. Berdych . 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (6-4) Semi-final v (2) Roger Federer . 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 . FINAL: Monday, September 8 . 9.30pm, Sky Sports 3 .
Kei Nishikori meets Marin Cilic in the US Open singles final on Monday .
The Japanese 24-year-old is poised to become a superstar of Asian sport .
Nishikori is appearing in his first Grand Slam final at Flushing Meadows .
It's the first Grand Slam men’s final in nearly nine years not to feature one of the Big Four of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray .
Even while recovering from the removal of a cyst from his foot last month, Kei Nishikori was so desperate to be on a tennis court that his joint coach, Dante Bottini, had to improvise. ‘He was sitting on a collapsible chair on the court because he couldn’t run and I was feeding him balls to hit for an hour,’ recalled Bottini after his charge had beaten Novak Djokovic to make tonight’s US Open final. Such dedication is why 24-year-old Japanese Nishikori is poised to become a superstar of Asian sport, and why he has long gone by the not entirely original nickname of Special Kei. Something special: Kei Nishikori, 24, has long gone by the not entirely original nickname of Special Kei . Preparation: Nishikori, the Japanese No 10 seed, practices in New York ahead of the US Open final . Ten years after arriving as a homesick boy at the renowned Nick Bollettieri/IMG Academy in Florida, he is in his first Grand Slam final and will start as favourite against the comparatively towering Marin Cilic. It is the first Grand Slam men’s final in nearly nine years not to feature one of the so-called ‘Big Four’ of Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. But neither of the two surprise finalists would have been top of the list to depose the established order. Cilic, 25, has spent most of his career on the periphery of the top 10, while the fear around Nishikori, the son of an engineer and a piano teacher, is that he is not physically equipped to make the very top. At 5ft 10in and weighing less than 11 stone his body has often failed to cope with the physical aspect of the modern game, although his natural talent has never been in question. He has always possessed an outstanding backhand and won his first ATP Tour title at Delray Beach as an 18-year-old. Subsequently the questions have not just surrounded his physique but his mentality, particularly when it came to facing the best players. Over the past week he has answered all of that with consecutive five-set wins over Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka, followed by Saturday’s semi-final against Djokovic, who he outlasted over four sets in brutal heat and humidity. Coming of age: Nishikori's beaten Milos Raonic, Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic en route to the final . Brad Gilbert, who formed part of his coaching set-up in 2011, describes him as ‘very quiet and shy’. His faltering mastery of English may have been a part of that, and Gilbert would email him tactical instructions for matches, rather than talk to him. The missing ingredient appears to have been the addition of French Open winner Michael Chang to his team, part of the trend set by Murray when he hired Ivan Lendl. Like Lendl, Chang has managed to get through to his charge in a way that did not happen before. ‘We get on great,’ said Chang. ‘With myself being Chinese and Kei Japanese there are cultural differences but also similarities because we are both Asian. If we are going out to eat we don’t have to say “Do you want Asian food?” It has been easy for us to adapt to one another.’ Nishikori missed several tournaments last month due to the cyst, but Chang believes that this has proved to be a blessing in disguise. ‘It wasn’t the best preparation but after three weeks off he arrived fresh and hungry. Some guys have a great summer but by the time the Open comes around they are tired. Support network: Nishikori has shone since Michael Chang took over as his coach . ‘I told him if he could get past the first two rounds anything could happen. I keep reminding him he has beaten everyone here, and not to be satisfied with what he has achieved already.’ Chang was a terrific fighter with lightning foot speed. Nishikori is also quick but his natural timing gives him more potent weapons than his coach ever had, despite his relative lack of size. It has led him to become easily the best player ever from Japan, which has always produced good female players but struggled much more on the men’s side. Their previous best of the modern era was Shuzo Matsuoka in the nineties, who is perhaps best remembered for suffering a spectacular bout of cramp that led to the rules being changed about on-court treatment. Nishikori would become the first Japanese man to win a tennis Major, and the commercial possibilities of that would be almost limitless. Either way, tennis is going to get its least predictable men’s Grand Slam champion since Juan Martin del Potro upset Federer at Flushing Meadows five years ago. Federer was phlegmatic after his straight-sets defeat by the hugely impressive Cilic, but this was a golden opportunity missed for him to add to his 17 Grand Slams. Nishikori has a 5-2 record over Cilic and has beaten him twice this year. Yet the Croatian has improved significantly and is an outstanding mover for his height, meaning that the Japanese can only be considered a marginal favourite. No pressure: Although towering over his opponent, Marin Cilic goes into the final as the underdog . Giant: 6ft 6in Cilic beat Roger Federer in straight sets to win his place in the final . KEI NISHIKORI . First round v Wayne Odesnik . 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 . Second round v Pablo Andujar . 6-4, 6-1, retired . Third round v Leonardo Mayer . 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 . Fourth round v (5) Milos Raonic . 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (6-8), 7-5, 6-4 . Quarter-final v (3) Stanislas Wawrinka . 3-6 7-5 7-6 (9-7) 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 . Semi-final v Novak Djokovic . 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 . MARIN CILIC . 1st round v Marcos Baghdatis . 6-3, 3-1 retired . 2nd round v Illya Marchenko . 7-6 (7-2), 6-2, 6-4 . 3rd round v (18) Kevin Anderson . 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 . 4th round v (26) Giles Simon . 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 . Quarter-final v (6) T. Berdych . 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (6-4) Semi-final v (2) Roger Federer . 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 . FINAL: Monday, September 8 . 9.30pm, Sky Sports 3 .
24-year-old Japanese Nishikori is poised to become a superstar of Asian sport, and why he has ahead of the US Open final . Ten years after Marin Cilic. It is the first Grand Slam men’s final in nearly nine years not to feature one of the so-called ‘Big Four’ of Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. But Federer at Flushing Meadows five years ago.