Kei’s greatest assets are his foot speed, hand speed, and his ability to see and create openings in the court. Because of his unusual quickness, he has developed one of the best returns of serve on the tour. Besides Novak Djokovic, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone return as well since Andre Agassi. He has the ability to take the ball very early on both his forehand and backhand and can drive the ball through the court from either side. He can also defend very well because of his quickness. His serve, and particularly his second serve, used to be a bit of a liability. With the help of his coach, Dante Bottini, he has improved his first serve adding pop to it. He now is able to get free points off his first serve. He’s also greatly improved his second serve and can defend it very well.
Kei’s ability to withstand the intense grind of consecutive matches and consecutive tournaments and his exposure to injury was also an area that needed to be improved. With the help of his physical trainers and conditioning program, this area has also improved. Talent is one thing. To become the best, I’ve observed that players have to have heart, desire, and the willingness to make huge sacrifices to achieve their goals. This is where his other coach, and former grand slam champion, Michael Chang comes in. Michael Chang has taught Kei how to fight, scrape, and compete at a higher level. Altogether, with Kei’s IMG managers headed by Olivier Van Lindonk, IMG Academy, his physical trainers, coaches Dante Bottini and Michael Chang, Kei has a powerful team behind him and is positioned well to succeed at the highest levels.
What’s the future for Kei Nishikori? If he can stay healthy and keep improving, he has the chance to maintain his current position in the top five on the ATP rankings and to compete for the top titles in the game. He has the talent, the desire, and the support team. I’m excited to see what will unfold!
Nick Bollettieri