Kei Nishikori wins Rakuten Open

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Kei Nishikori continued his amazing form, winning the Rakuten Open in Tokyo yesterday, beating Canadian Milos Raonic 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4 is a closely fought final that was a fitting finale to the week of tennis. Japan’s Nishikori extends his recent record on tour to 15-1 since July and seems to be suffering no ill-effects from the added pressure that comes with being a Grand Slam finalist.

Both Nishikori and Raonic were desperate to win the title, not only for the trophy, but to gain the 500 Race points available that would go toward their qualification for the season ending World Tour Finals at the O2 in London. Both players sit in the Top 8 currently, but Raonic especially will be wary of chasers such as Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov as he looks to close out the season strongly.

For Nishikori, it was a week where up until the final, he has not faced an opponent inside the world’s top 30. Raonic represented a huge step up in difficulty, as both men had progressed through the draw without drama. Nishikori took the crucial opening set on a tie-break and looked to have the momentum.

However, Raonic battled back in the second set, levelling the match and threatening to bring Nishikori’s incredible run to an end. With home support behind him, the capacity crowd willed their man on to finally overcome Raonic in three-sets.

Both men will head to the Shanghai Masters confident of going deep in another tournament. The conditions will likely be similar to the Rakuten Open, with fast courts favouring Raonic in particular, who could be a dark horse for the title in Shanghai.

Here are the highlights from the Final:

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