2015 Kei Nishikori tennis season

Main article: Kei Nishikori

2015 Kei Nishikori tennis season
Singles
Name	Kei Nishikori
Country	Japan
Calendar prize money	$1,228,881 (singles & doubles)
Season record	26–5 (83.87%)
Calendar titles	2
Current ranking	No. 5
Ranking change from previous year
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	QF
Doubles
Season record	3–1 (75%)
Calendar titles	0
Current ranking	337
Ranking change from previous year	216
Injuries
Injuries	N/A
Last updated on: 27 April 2015.

The 2015 Kei Nishikori tennis season officially began on 4 January 2015 with the start of the 2015 Brisbane International.

Year in detail

Australian Open Series

Brisbane International

Nishikori began his 2015 season at the 2015 Brisbane International where he reached the semifinals after beating Steve Johnson and Bernard Tomic in straight sets. However, he was defeated by rival Milos Raonic in three-tight tiebreak sets in the semifinals.

Australian Open

Nishikori opened his 2015 Australian Open campaign by defeating Nicolas Almagro in straight sets in the first round. In the second round, he beat Ivan Dodig in four sets and proceeded by defeating Steve Johnson in the third round in four sets. In the fourth round, he dominated Spaniard David Ferrer in a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 straight sets victory to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the second time. However, he was beaten by Stan Wawrinka in the QF in straight sets.

Memphis Open

Nishikori became the first player to achieve the three-peat at the Memphis Open when he beat Kevin Anderson in the final of the 2015 Memphis Open in straight sets.^[1] He was pushed to three sets by each of his 3 opponents Ryan Harrison, Austin Krajicek and Sam Querrey en route to the final.

Abierto Mexicano Telcel

Nishikori achieved a career-high ranking of world number 4 when he reached the final of the 2015 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, beating Kevin Anderson in three sets in the semifinals.^[2] He had beaten Alejandro Gonzalez, Yen-Hsun Lu and Alexandr Dolgopolov all in straight sets en route to the semifinal. However, he was beaten by David Ferrer in straight sets in the final.

Davis Cup

Nishikori helped the Japan Davis Cup team by beating Vasek Pospisil in straight sets and rival Milos Raonic in a tough epic five-setter in the round robin. However, he could not prevent his team's loss to Canada in the first round with the score 2-3.

The March Masters

Indian Wells Masters

Nishikori began the March Masters at the Indian Wells Masters. After a first round bye, he defeated Ryan Harrison in straight sets in the 2R and Fernando Verdasco in three sets in the 3R to advance to the fourth round berth at the Indian Wells Masters for the first time after seven appearances in his career. However, he was upset by Feliciano Lopez in the 4R in straight sets.

Miami Masters

He next competed at the Miami Masters, hoping to repeat his feat by reaching the semifinals last year. He had a bye in the first round and proceeded by beating Mikhail Youzhny, Viktor Troicki and David Goffin all in straight sets losing a total of only 10 games to reach the quarterfinals. However, he was beaten by an in-form John Isner in straight sets in the QF.

European Clay Court Season

Barcelona Open

Kei Nishikori began his clay-court season by participating at the 2015 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell as the defending champion. After a bye in the first round, he beat Teymuraz Gabashvili and Santiago Giraldo in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals. He surpassed Roberto Bautista Agut in three sets to advance to the semifinals where he encountered Martin Klizan, beating him in another straight sets victory to book his place in the final. He successfully defended his title by beating Pablo Andujar in the final in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, winning his 2nd ATP title of the year and ninth overall.

All matches

Key

LQ (Q#)

SF-B

F-S

NMS

Won tournament; or reached Final; Semifinal; Quarter-final; Round 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a Round Robin stage; lost in Qualification Round; absent from tournament event; played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off; won a bronze, silver (F or S) or gold medal at the Olympics; a downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament (Not a Masters Series); or a tournament that was Not Held in a given year.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.

Singles matches

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponent (Seed or Key)	Rank	Result	Score
Brisbane International Brisbane, Australia ATP World Tour 250 Hard, outdoor 4 – 11 January 2015
	–	1R	Bye
	1	2R	Steve Johnson	37	Win	6–4, 7–5
	2	QF	Bernard Tomic	53	Win	6–0, 6–4
	3	SF	Milos Raonic (3)	8	Loss	7–6^(7–4), 6–7^(4–7), 6–7^(4–7)

Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam tournament Hard, outdoor 19 January – 1 February 2015
	4	1R	Nicolas Almagro	69	Win	6–4, 7–6^(7–1), 6-2
	5	2R	Ivan Dodig	86	Win	4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 7–6^(7-0)
	6	3R	Steve Johnson	38	Win	6–7^(7–9), 6-1, 6-2, 6-3
	7	4R	David Ferrer (9)	10	Win	6-3, 6-3, 6-3
	8	QF	Stan Wawrinka (4)	4	Loss	3–6, 4-6, 6–7^(6–8)

Memphis Open Memphis, United States ATP World Tour 250 Hard, indoor 9 – 15 February 2015
	–	1R	Bye
	9	2R	Ryan Harrison (Q)	165	Win	3-6, 6-3, 6-4
	10	QF	Austin Krajicek (Q)	156	Win	4-6, 6-3, 6-4
	11	SF	Sam Querrey	41	Win	5-7, 7–6^(7-5), 7–6^(7-5)
	12	W	Kevin Anderson (2)	15	Win (1)	6-4, 6-4

Abierto Mexicano Telcel Acapulco, Mexico ATP World Tour 500 Hard, outdoor 23 – 28 February 2015
	13	1R	Alejandro Gonzalez (Q)	92	Win	6-3, 7-5
	14	2R	Yen-Hsun Lu	61	Win	6–1, 6–3
	15	QF	Alexandr Dolgopolov	33	Win	6–4, 6–4
	16	SF	Kevin Anderson	15	Win	6-2, 3-6, 6-3
	17	F	David Ferrer (2)	9	Loss	3-6, 5-7

Davis Cup World Group First Round Vancouver, Canada Davis Cup Hard, indoor 6 – 8 March 2015
	18	RR	Vasek Pospisil	62	Win	6-4, 7-6^(7-5), 6-3
	19	RR	Milos Raonic	6	Win	3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4

BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells, United States ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor 9 – 22 March 2014
	–	1R	Bye
	20	2R	Ryan Harrison (WC)	110	Win	6-4, 6-4
	21	3R	Fernando Verdasco (28)	31	Win	6–7^(6–8), 6-1, 6-4
	22	4R	Feliciano Lopez (12)	12	Loss	4-6, 6-7^(2–7)

Miami Open Miami, United States ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor 24 March – 5 April 2014
	–	1R	Bye
	23	2R	Mikhail Youzhny	64	Win	6-2, 6-1
	24	3R	Viktor Troicki (32)	39	Win	6-2, 6-2
	25	4R	David Goffin (18)	20	Win	6-1, 6-2
	26	QF	John Isner (22)	24	Loss	4-6, 3-6

Barcelona Open Barcelona, Spain ATP World Tour 500 Clay, outdoor 20 – 26 April 2015
	–	1R	Bye
	27	2R	Teymuraz Gabashvili	85	Win	6-3, 6-4
	28	3R	Santiago Giraldo (15)	31	Win	6-2, 6-1
	29	QF	Roberto Bautista Agut (7)	16	Win	6-2, 3-6, 6-1
	30	SF	Martin Klizan (14)	28	Win	6-1, 6-2
	31	W	Pablo Andujar	66	Win (2)	6-4, 6-4

Madrid Masters Madrid, Spain ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Clay, outdoor 4 May – 10 May 2015
	–	1R	Bye
	32	2R

Doubles matches

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponents (Seed or Key)	Ranks	Result	Score
Brisbane International Doha, Qatar ATP World Tour 250 Hard, outdoor 4 – 11 January 2015 Partner: Alexandr Dolgopolov
	1	1R	Rohan Bopanna / Daniel Nestor (2)	#30 / #4	Win	6-4, 3-6, [10-6]
	2	QF	Chris Guccione / Lleyton Hewitt	#38 / #110	Win	6-2, 7-5
	3	SF	Grigor Dimitrov / Thanasi Kokkinakis [WC]	#177 / #408	Win	6-3, 6-3
	4	F	Jamie Murray / John Peers	#41 / #42	Loss	3-6, 6–7^(4-7)

Tournament schedule

Singles schedule

Kei's 2015 singles tournament schedule is as follows: (Bolded letter indicates better or same result at the tournament)

Date	Tournament	Location	Category	Surface¹	Outcome 2014	Outcome 2015	Prev. Pts	New Pts²
04 January 2015 – 11 January 2015	Brisbane International	Brisbane, Australia	ATP World Tour 250	Hard	SF	SF	90	90
19 January 2015 – 1 February 2015	Australian Open	Melbourne, Australia	Grand Slam	Hard	4R	QF	180	360
9 February 2015 – 15 February 2015	Memphis Open	Memphis, United States	ATP World Tour 250	Hard(i)	W	W	250	250
23 February 2015 – 28 February 2015	Abierto Mexicano Telcel	Acapulco, Mexico	ATP World Tour 500	Hard	DNS	F	0	300
6 March 2015 – 8 March 2015	Davis Cup	Vancouver, Canada	Davis Cup	Hard(i)	QF	1R	40	0
9 March 2015 – 22 March 2015	Indian Wells Masters	Indian Wells, United States	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Hard	3R	4R	45	90
24 March 2015 – 5 April 2015	Miami Masters	Miami, United States	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Hard	SF	QF	360	180
20 April 2015 – 26 April 2015	Barcelona Open	Barcelona, Spain	ATP World Tour 500	Clay	W	W	500	500
3 May 2015 – 10 May 2015	Madrid Open	Madrid, Spain	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Clay	F		600
10 May 2015 – 17 May 2015	Italian Open	Rome, Italy	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Clay	DNS		0
24 May 2015 – 7 June 2015	French Open	Paris, France	Grand Slam	Clay	1R		10
29 June 2015 – 12 July 2015	Wimbledon Championships	London, United Kingdom	Grand Slam	Grass	4R		180
27 July 2015 – 3 August 2015	Citi Open	Washington, D.C., United States	ATP World Tour 500	Hard	QF		90
10 August 2015 – 16 August 2015	Canadian Open	Toronto, Canada	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Hard	DNS		0
16 August 2015 – 23 August 2015	Cincinnati Masters	Cincinnati, United States	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Hard	DNS		0
31 August 2015 – 13 September 2015	US Open	New York City, United States	Grand Slam	Hard	F		1200
05 October 2015 – 11 October 2015	Japan Open	Tokyo, Japan	ATP World Tour 500	Hard	W		500
11 October 2015 – 18 October 2015	Shanghai Masters	Shanghai, China	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Hard	2R		10
02 November 2015 – 08 November 2015	Paris Masters	France	ATP World Tour Masters 1000	Hard (i)	SF		360
Total							4415	1850

¹ The symbol (i) = indoors means that the respective tournament will be held indoors.

² The ATP numbers between brackets = non-countable tournaments.

Yearly records

Head-to-head matchups

Kei Nishikori has a 26–5 (83.87% of wins) match win-loss record in the 2015 season. His record against players who were part of the ATP Rankings Top Ten at the time of their meetings was 2–3 (40% of wins). The following list is ordered by number of wins: (Bolded letter marks a top 10 player at the time of match, Italic means top 50)

Kevin Anderson 2–0
Steve Johnson 2–0
Ryan Harrison 2–0
Milos Raonic 1–1
David Ferrer 1–1
Martin Klizan 1–0
Roberto Bautista Agut 1–0
David Goffin 1–0
Alexandr Dolgopolov 1–0
Fernando Verdasco 1–0
Sam Querrey 1–0
Viktor Troicki 1–0
Santiago Giraldo 1–0
Pablo Andujar 1-0
Vasek Pospisil 1–0
Nicolas Almagro 1–0
Ivan Dodig 1–0
Austin Krajicek 1–0
Yen-Hsun Lu 1–0
Mikhail Youzhny 1–0
Bernard Tomic 1–0
Teymuraz Gabashvili 1–0
Alejandro Gonzalez 1–0
Stan Wawrinka 0–1
Feliciano Lopez 0–1
John Isner 0–1

Finals

Singles: 3 (2-1)

Category
Grand Slam (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0-0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0-0)
ATP World Tour 500 (1-1)
ATP World Tour 250 (1–0)

Titles by surface
Hard (1-1)
Clay (1-0)
Grass (0–0)

Titles by conditions
Outdoors (1-1)
Indoors (1-0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	8.	15 February 2015	Memphis Open, Memphis, United States (3)	Hard (i)	Kevin Anderson	6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	5.	28 February 2015	Mexican Open, Acapulco, Mexico	Hard	David Ferrer	3–6, 5–7
Winner	9.	26 April 2015	Barcelona Open, Barcelona, Spain (2)	Clay	Pablo Andujar	6-4, 6-4

Doubles: 1 (0-1)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
Year-End Championships (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
Olympics Games (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (0-1)

Titles by Surface
Hard (0-1)
Clay (0-0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)

Titles by Location
Outdoors (0-1)
Indoors (0–0)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	January 11, 2015	Brisbane International, Brisbane, Australia	Hard	Alexandr Dolgopolov	Jamie Murray John Peers	3–6, 6–7^(4–7)

Earnings

Bold font denotes tournament win

#	Venue	Singles Prize Money	Year-to-date
1.	2015 Brisbane International	$29,180	$29,180
2.	2015 Australian Open	A$340,000	$295,196
3.	2015 Memphis Open	$106,565	$401,761
4.	2015 Abierto Mexicano Telcel	$154,620	$556,381
5.	2015 BNP Paribas Open	$59,185	$615,566
6.	2015 Miami Open	$112,270	$734,682
7.	2015 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell	€457,550	$1,228,881
8.	2015 Mutua Madrid Open	€	$

References

↑ "Nishikori claims Memphis three-peat". atpworldtour.com. ATP. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
↑ "Nishikori beats Anderson for Acapulco final berth". atpworldtour.com. ATP. Retrieved 28 February 2015.