Following tennis player Kei Nishikori's (former world No. 4) announcement on May 1st that he would retire at the end of this season, WOWOW launched a special program titled "Kei Nishikori, thank you for the inspiration!"
The special program, which is available on WOWOW On Demand, looks back at the brilliant play and heroic figures of the player who rewrote the history of Japanese tennis with his "Air Kei" shot, using an archive of match footage from the past 18 years.
This collection features carefully selected match footage, from the 2008 US Open, which brought Kei Nishikori, then relatively unknown, to the 2025 Australian Open, his final appearance in a Grand Slam tournament, as well as the Japan Open, the only official men's ATP Tour event held in Japan where he has won twice.
◇Three noteworthy lineups
"US Open Tennis 2008 vs. D. Ferrer": This match, in which 18-year-old Nishikori defeated Ferrer, then ranked 4th in the world, in a full three sets, can be said to be the beginning of a legend. In February of the same year, he won the ATP 250 Delray Beach tournament, shocking tennis fans around the world. Subsequently, with this victory, he became only the second Japanese player in history to reach the round of 16 in a Grand Slam tournament, proving his abilities.
"Japan Open Tennis 2012 vs. Milos Raonic": For Kei Nishikori, then ranked 17th in the world, this year's Japan Open was a match where he had a chance to win a tour title for the first time since 2008 (ATP 250 Delray Beach). Against Raonic, whose weapon was a powerful serve, Nishikori's aggressive returns were outstanding, and he achieved his long-awaited first victory in front of a packed Ariake Coliseum.
"Australian Open Tennis 2019 vs. P. Carreño Busta": This grueling match, lasting over five hours, was decided by the introduction of the 10-point tiebreak in this tournament. After losing the first two sets, Kei Nishikori staged a dramatic comeback, making this a match that exemplifies his reputation as a player who excels in full-set matches.
◇Full lineup
<Great Australian Open Matches> "Australian Open Tennis 2012 2nd Round vs Ebden" ▽ "Australian Open Tennis 2012 4th Round vs J. Tsonga" ▽ "Australian Open Tennis 2012 Quarterfinals vs A. Murray" ▽ "Australian Open Tennis 2014 4th Round vs R. Nadal" ▽ "Australian Open Tennis 2015 4th Round vs D. Ferrer" ▽ "Australian Open Tennis 2015 Quarterfinals vs S. Wawrinka" ▽ "Australian Open Tennis 2016 4th Round vs J. Tsonga" ▽ "Australian Open Tennis 2017 4th Round vs R. Federer" ▽ "Australian Open Tennis 2019 4th Round vs P. Carreño Busta" ▽ "Australian Open Tennis 2025 1st Round vs T. Montero" ▽ "Australian Open Tennis 2025 2nd Round vs T. Paul and others
<French Open Memorable Matches> "French Open Tennis 2013 4th Round vs R. Nadal" ▽ "French Open Tennis 2015 4th Round vs T. Berdych" ▽ "French Open Tennis 2015 Quarterfinals vs J. Tsonga" ▽ "French Open Tennis 2016 3rd Round vs F. Verdasco" ▽ "French Open Tennis 2016 4th Round vs R. Gasquet" ▽ "French Open Tennis 2017 3rd Round vs Chung Hyeon" ▽ "French Open Tennis 2017 4th Round vs F. Verdasco" ▽ "French Open Tennis 2017 Quarterfinals vs A. Murray" ▽ "French Open Tennis 2018 2nd Round vs B. Paire" ▽ "French Open Tennis 2018 3rd Round vs G. Simon" ▽ "French Open Tennis 2018 4th Round vs D. Thiem; "French Open 2019 3rd Round vs L. Djere"; "French Open 2019 4th Round vs B. Paire"; "French Open 2019 Quarterfinals vs R. Nadal"; "French Open 2012 2nd Round vs K. Khachanov"; "French Open 2014 1st Round vs G. Diallo" and others.
<Great US Open Matches> "US Open Tennis 2008 3rd Round vs D. Ferrer" ▽ "US Open Tennis 2010 2nd Round vs M. Cilic" ▽ "US Open Tennis 2012 3rd Round vs M. Cilic" ▽ "US Open Tennis 2014 4th Round vs M. Raonic" ▽ "US Open Tennis 2014 Quarterfinals vs S. Wawrinka" ▽ "US Open Tennis 2014 Semifinals vs N. Djokovic" ▽ "US Open Tennis 2014 Final vs M. Cilic" ▽ "US Open Tennis 2016 Quarterfinals vs A. Murray" ▽ "US Open Tennis 2016 Semifinals vs S. Wawrinka" ▽ "US Open Tennis 2018 Quarterfinals vs M. Cilic" ▽ "US Open Tennis 2018 Semifinals vs N. Djokovic" ▽ "US Open Tennis 2012 3rd Round vs "N. Djokovic" and others
<Japan Open Memorable Matches> "Japan Open Tennis 2012 Round 1 vs. Go Soeda" ▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2012 Round 2 vs. T. Robredo" ▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2012 Quarterfinals vs. T. Berdych" ▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2012 Semifinals vs. M. Baghdatis" ▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2012 Final vs. M. Raonic" ▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2013 Round 1 vs. J. Melzer" ▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2013 Round 2 vs. F. Lopez" ▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2013 Quarterfinals vs. N. Almagro" ▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2014 Round 1 vs. I. Dodig" ▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2014 Round 2 vs. D. Young" ▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2014 Quarterfinals vs. J. Chardy" ▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2014 Semifinals vs. B. Becker; Japan Open Tennis 2014 Final vs. M. Raonic
"Japan Open Tennis 2015 Round 1 vs B. Coric"▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2015 Round 2 vs S. Querrey"▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2015 Quarterfinals vs M. Cilic"▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2015 Semifinals vs B. Paire"▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2016 Round 1 vs D. Young"▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2016 Round 2 vs J. Sousa"▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2018 Round 1 vs Yuichi Sugita"▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2018 Round 2 vs B. Paire"▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2018 Quarterfinals vs S. Tsitsipas"▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2018 Semifinals vs R. Gasquet"▽ "Japan Open Tennis 2018 Final vs D. Medvedev"▽ "Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis 2014 Round 1 vs "M. Cilic" ▽ "Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis 2014 Round 2 vs. J. Thompson" ▽ "Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis 2014 Quarterfinals vs. H. Lune" and others
