Kei Nishikori: #9 player in the world

[Kirijax]

Just kidding guys... I was referring more to Kei's chances of winning a GS than the GS tournaments changing their format. Kei is just so so f-r-a-g-i-l-e...

 

[Kieran]

Just kidding guys... I was referring more to Kei's chances of winning a GS than the GS tournaments changing their format. Kei is just so so f-r-a-g-i-l-e...

I don't know much of him, to be honest. What's his main problem been? And what can he do in future?

 

[El Dude]

To be honest, after watching the last two matches with Nishikori, I find myself a fan. He's now officially my third favorite player, after Federer and Dimitrov.

 

[herios]

To be honest, after watching the last two matches with Nishikori, I find myself a fan. He's now officially my third favorite player, after Federer and Dimitrov.

There ya go!
Soon you will also change your mind about the "lost generation", as you called the currently 21-24y old group.
They will be getting there and by the time they will be 26-30, you will see how they will grab those slams.

 

[Front242]

To be honest, after watching the last two matches with Nishikori, I find myself a fan. He's now officially my third favorite player, after Federer and Dimitrov.

I like him too but when I see Federer losing a big lead to him and losing like a complete scrub (twice!) it p1$$e$ me off! Other than that though, he's great to watch

 

[El Dude]

To be honest, after watching the last two matches with Nishikori, I find myself a fan. He's now officially my third favorite player, after Federer and Dimitrov.

There ya go!
Soon you will also change your mind about the "lost generation", as you called the currently 21-24y old group.
They will be getting there and by the time they will be 26-30, you will see how they will grab those slams.

Yeah, they'll win Slams - but I think it is partially because when they're 26-30, Rafa, Novak and Andy will be 31-35. Of course at that point, the next generation--Vesely, Thiem, Kyrgios, Coric, and Garin--will be 21-25 and starting to make some noise.

 

[herios]

To be honest, after watching the last two matches with Nishikori, I find myself a fan. He's now officially my third favorite player, after Federer and Dimitrov.

There ya go!
Soon you will also change your mind about the "lost generation", as you called the currently 21-24y old group.
They will be getting there and by the time they will be 26-30, you will see how they will grab those slams.

Yeah, they'll win Slams - but I think it is partially because when they're 26-30, Rafa, Novak and Andy will be 31-35. Of course at that point, the next generation--Vesely, Thiem, Kyrgios, Coric, and Garin--will be 21-25 and starting to make some noise.

Well, that is how things work, usually. Didn't Nole and Andy won their slams (except Nole's first) after Roger turned 29+ ?
So far, Roger won only one slam in his thirties. Until proven otherwise, the over 30 while they still play very well, the slams have been won by the 20-30 aged in the vast majority of the cases.
Over 30, those are the exceptions.

 

[El Dude]

Yeah, that's how it works, but usually the new group includes some superstars, some all-time greats. It is rare--almost unheard of--that an entire generation is lacking in at least one all-time great.

Check this out - 3+ Slam winners by birth year (Open Era only):

1987 Djokovic, (Murray)
1986 Nadal
1981 Federer
1976 Kuerten
1971 Sampras
1970 Agassi, Courier
1967 Becker
1966 Edberg
1964 Wilander
1960 Lendl
1959 McEnroe
1956 Borg
1952 Connors, Vilas
1944 Newcombe
1943 Ashe
1938 Laver
1934 Rosewall

As you can see, since Connors and Vilas (1952) there hasn't been more than five years between 3+Slam winners, which means that after Novak and Andy (1987) we should have at least one 3+ Slam winner born no later than 1992, or a range of 1988-92. That means that someone within the so-called Lost Generation is statistically likely to win at least 3 Slams.

Who are the candidates? Here are some of the best players born by year:

1988: Del Potro, Cilic, Dolgopolov, Gulbis
1989: Nishikori, Klizan, Paire, Young
1990: Raonic, Janowicz, Pospisil, Delbonis, Goffin
1991: Dimitrov, Carreno Busta, Kudla
1992: Tomic, Sock, Harrison, Dzumhur

That's hardly an all-star class. I'd say the best bets to win 3+ Slams are probably Dimitrov, Raonic, maybe Nishikori. I fear that the ship has sailed on Del Potro. Even if one of the 1988 players wins three Slams, we only extend the range by one year and have to look at 1993 players.

Anyhow, new precedents are always being set but it is interesting to look at what has come before.

 

[Rose]

I was a fan until the Madrid Tournament where Kei took repeated medical time outs in several Matches. I thought you couldn't take multiple medical time outs for the same condition? Plus he also put in a restroom break when Rafa's game started picking up in the Final.

 

[isabelle]

Hope Kei can play RG, this injury is really annoying. Wish him a fast recovery

 

[Ricardo]

I was a fan until the Madrid Tournament where Kei took repeated medical time outs in several Matches. I thought you couldn't take multiple medical time outs for the same condition? Plus he also put in a restroom break when Rafa's game started picking up in the Final.

wow thats harsh, i don't think they really let him break the rules. Besides, i am sure he had to take those MTOs or he'd surely retired instantly. Remember only weeks ago he forfeited his then-biggest match of his career (a MS1000 semi), the injury was certainly very serious. For me a few MTOs was better than seeing him forfeiting the final to Rafa any day.

 

[brokenshoelace]

To be honest, after watching the last two matches with Nishikori, I find myself a fan. He's now officially my third favorite player, after Federer and Dimitrov.

There ya go!
Soon you will also change your mind about the "lost generation", as you called the currently 21-24y old group.
They will be getting there and by the time they will be 26-30, you will see how they will grab those slams.

No they won't.

Which players do you think will be grabbing slams when they'll be 26-30 among the current generation?

 

[herios]

To be honest, after watching the last two matches with Nishikori, I find myself a fan. He's now officially my third favorite player, after Federer and Dimitrov.

There ya go!
Soon you will also change your mind about the "lost generation", as you called the currently 21-24y old group.
They will be getting there and by the time they will be 26-30, you will see how they will grab those slams.

No they won't.

Which players do you think will be grabbing slams when they'll be 26-30 among the current generation?

Why are you so sure they will not? Dimitrov and Raonic are improving and yes, I think both will be able to sin slams in a few years.
Nishikori I have doubts because of the injuries, but those could be also looked into and perhaps fixed.
I know you focus on the holes in their games, but they are working on them and you don't know right much they could still improve in the next few years.

 

[brokenshoelace]

To be honest, after watching the last two matches with Nishikori, I find myself a fan. He's now officially my third favorite player, after Federer and Dimitrov.

There ya go!
Soon you will also change your mind about the "lost generation", as you called the currently 21-24y old group.
They will be getting there and by the time they will be 26-30, you will see how they will grab those slams.

No they won't.

Which players do you think will be grabbing slams when they'll be 26-30 among the current generation?

Why are you so sure they will not? Dimitrov and Raonic are improving and yes, I think both will be able to sin slams in a few years.
Nishikori I have doubts because of the injuries, but those could be also looked into and perhaps fixed.
I know you focus on the holes in their games, but they are working on them and you don't know right much they could still improve in the next few years.

Raonic is way too limited to win slams. Dimitrov is a possibility. But that's literally one player who seems good enough. I am not sure that they won't, but I'm pretty confident. There really doesn't seem to be any indication that they're improving significantly, especially with many of them not being THAT young anymore.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

"the so-called lost gereration" ?..sounds like another way of saying.....

.........................................weak era.

 

[brokenshoelace]

"the so-called lost gereration" ?..sounds like another way of saying.....

.........................................weak era.

Weak era means calling the men currently on top underwhelming. Not those who actually never made it to the top. Nobody's saying the current top 5 or top 10 players are weak, thus it can't be a weak era. What most are claiming (rightly) is that the younger generation who needs to step up, have been disappointing.

 

[herios]

To be honest, after watching the last two matches with Nishikori, I find myself a fan. He's now officially my third favorite player, after Federer and Dimitrov.

There ya go!
Soon you will also change your mind about the "lost generation", as you called the currently 21-24y old group.
They will be getting there and by the time they will be 26-30, you will see how they will grab those slams.

No they won't.

Which players do you think will be grabbing slams when they'll be 26-30 among the current generation?

Why are you so sure they will not? Dimitrov and Raonic are improving and yes, I think both will be able to sin slams in a few years.
Nishikori I have doubts because of the injuries, but those could be also looked into and perhaps fixed.
I know you focus on the holes in their games, but they are working on them and you don't know right much they could still improve in the next few years.

Raonic is way too limited to win slams. Dimitrov is a possibility. But that's literally one player who seems good enough. I am not sure that they won't, but I'm pretty confident. There really doesn't seem to be any indication that they're improving significantly, especially with many of them not being THAT young anymore.

"way too limited" I am not sure about that. He has improved this year significantly. Looks at his results. He has made this year 4 times QF in masters (one of them now SF) in 4 out of 5.
That translates clearly in top 8 player, as far as I am concerned. As far as their age, we see what happens right now in men's tennis. When you consider the lack of young players overall, they could be still called young. You need only the fingers on one hand to count how many are younger than Dimitrov in the top 100.

 

[brokenshoelace]

There ya go!
Soon you will also change your mind about the "lost generation", as you called the currently 21-24y old group.
They will be getting there and by the time they will be 26-30, you will see how they will grab those slams.

No they won't.

Which players do you think will be grabbing slams when they'll be 26-30 among the current generation?

Why are you so sure they will not? Dimitrov and Raonic are improving and yes, I think both will be able to sin slams in a few years.
Nishikori I have doubts because of the injuries, but those could be also looked into and perhaps fixed.
I know you focus on the holes in their games, but they are working on them and you don't know right much they could still improve in the next few years.

Raonic is way too limited to win slams. Dimitrov is a possibility. But that's literally one player who seems good enough. I am not sure that they won't, but I'm pretty confident. There really doesn't seem to be any indication that they're improving significantly, especially with many of them not being THAT young anymore.

"way too limited" I am not sure about that. He has improved this year significantly. Looks at his results. He has made this year 4 times QF in masters (one of them now SF) in 4 out of 5.
That translates clearly in top 8 player, as far as I am concerned. As far as their age, we see what happens right now in men's tennis. When you consider the lack of young players overall, they could be still called young. You need only the fingers on one hand to count how many are younger than Dimitrov in the top 100.

Again, re: Milos, I mean way too limited as far as the required standard to win majors, not be a top 10 player. When was the last time a guy with a similar game and skill set threatened to win a major? Obviously it wouldn't be the most shocking thing in the world, and yes, he is improving and will improve further, but right now, I don't see the necessary quality.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

"the so-called lost gereration" ?..sounds like another way of saying.....

.........................................weak era.

Weak era means calling the men currently on top underwhelming. Not those who actually never made it to the top. Nobody's saying the current top 5 or top 10 players are weak, thus it can't be a weak era. What most are claiming (rightly) is that the younger generation who needs to step up, have been disappointing.

no. you missed the point, people (not me) witter on about weak era for more reasons than that. but blahblah.

and anyway, I was jesting so just *R E L A X*

 

[brokenshoelace]

"the so-called lost gereration" ?..sounds like another way of saying.....

.........................................weak era.

Weak era means calling the men currently on top underwhelming. Not those who actually never made it to the top. Nobody's saying the current top 5 or top 10 players are weak, thus it can't be a weak era. What most are claiming (rightly) is that the younger generation who needs to step up, have been disappointing.

no. you missed the point, people (not me) witter on about weak era for more reasons than that. but blahblah.

and anyway, I was jesting so just *R E L A X*

I'm curious as to which part of my post gave the impression that I wasn't relaxed.