Kei Nishikori Through to Wimbledon Second Round

Kei Nishikori beat Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan in straight sets Tuesday to enter the second round of Wimbledon for the first time in his career. Nishikori is the first Japanese man to win at Wimbledon since Takao Suzuki in 2003.

Nishikori, seeded 19th, beat 52nd-seed Kukushkin 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 for his first win since tearing his left-side abdominal muscles in late April.

“I am happy,” he said. “This is the victory that I’ve been longing for. I want to savor my enjoyment. After going through rehab, this one victory is very meaningful.”

Nishikori, 22, has been eyed as among a crop of young talent likely to break into the top 10 after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France to become the first Japanese man to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January. He missed the French Open due to the abdominal tear suffered in Barcelona.

“I got a little confidence from Australia and being in the top 20, and I’m seeded for the first time here,” he said. “So I have a lot of confidence. This is a big win for me and especially since I have just come back from injury. This one means a lot to me.”

His only warmup were two exhibition matches last week.

Nishikori managed to pull out the first set after losing serve early. Early in the second set he called for a medical time out for some pain-killing spray on his right ankle and knee and heavy strapping. The injury didn’t seem to bother him for the rest of the match.

“I twisted my ankle a little bit and my knee was bothering me a little bit,” he said. “But now it’s fine. I don’t think it will be a problem, hopefully not.”

The match took just two hours and 20 minutes, giving him more time to rest up for his second-round match against either Andrey Kuznetsov or Florent Serra.

On January 20 Nishikori became the first Japanese man to win three matches in the main draw of the Australian Open since Jiro Sato in 1932. He then upset sixth-seeded Tsonga 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 two days later. His previously best performance at a major was reaching the 4th round at the 2008 US Open. The 5-10, 154-pound Nishikori, then seeded 24th, ultimately lost to Andy Murray.

During the past year Nishikori has been the fastest-rising player among the top-25 ATP players, soaring from 98th at the start of 2011 to a career-high 25th that November after upsetting No. 1 Novak Djokovic to reach the final of the Swiss Indoor Championships.

Nishikori’s training at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida was initially financed by a special Japanese national fund to promote Japanese players into the top ranks of professional tennis. Like his idol Michael Chang, Nishikori has exceptional court mobility and endurance.

Nishikori’s current ranking makes him the highest ranked Japanese player ever. He is also the highest ranked Asian man in professional tennis since Chinese American Michael Chang who won the French Open in 1989 at the age of 17.