Kei Nishikori at the US Open: The Interview

Kei Nishikori, 18, who is ranked 126th, had won his first match in a Grand Slam tournament beating no 29th seed Juan Monaco 6-2, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.

Despite suffered a cramp in his legs in the fourth set, he's still able to get past Monaco.

In the last appearance in a Grand Slam, at Wimbledon, he was forced to retire after a stomach muscle injury.

Here's the interview with Kei after the first round match:

Q. I think there was a point at the beginning of the third set that there was a little dispute about, and you basically told your opponent that the ball was in and not out. Could you talk about that?

KEI NISHIKORI: Umm, I didn't know what happened just couple few seconds. I thought it was in, but I didn't see the ball, and so...

Yeah, I thought that was like crazy, stupid, so... I just called in.

Q. Can you just talk about the reason you called the trainer specifically?

KEI NISHIKORI: I just cramped. I couldn't moved. Just long points.

Q. How big a win was this in your mind?

KEI NISHIKORI: Sorry?

Q. How big a win was this in your mind?

KEI NISHIKORI: Oh, it was great win, I think because he's a good player, and seeded. And, yeah, I didn't think I was going to win, so I'm happy of it.

Q. You had some friends or your coach maybe at the south end, kind of the south baseline in the stands. You turned around at one point you were talking to them I think right after the second set. Was that your coach or friends?

KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah, my coach and my parents are there, yeah.

Q. How long have you been living at Bollettieri's?

KEI NISHIKORI: Almost five years now.

Q. Almost five years?

KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah.

Q. Are you liking it?

KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah, I love it. So many good players practicing there. Good coaches, and, yeah, I like it.

Q. And do you miss Japan at all?

KEI NISHIKORI: I do. But I've got to train there, so I can't go back.

Q. Can you talk about the Olympic experience at all?

KEI NISHIKORI: I wasn't playing great, but it was great. It's real different than like this kind of tournament. It's only once every four years, and I came back from 6‑3, 5‑0, something. So, yeah, there was good experience.

Q. Was that a first round match at the Olympics?

KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah.

Q. How often do you go back home?

KEI NISHIKORI: Only once or twice a year.

Q. And do you communicate? Are your parents here, or are they...

KEI NISHIKORI: No, they live in Japan, but they come ‑‑ they came Wimbledon and here, too.

Q. And how do you communicate normally? Telephone or text message or computer?

KEI NISHIKORI: E‑mail mostly, but sometimes telephone, yeah. But not so much.

Q. Have you made many friends at the academy?

KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah.

Q. Who are some of your buddies there?

KEI NISHIKORI: Jesse Levine. He's playing this tournament, too. And all the pros, Tommy Haas and Stepanek.

Q. Do you think it would be possible for you to develop your game if you weren't in that environment? Do you need to be there, or is it a choice?

KEI NISHIKORI: What do you mean?

Q. Could you develop your game this well in Japan, do think, or not?

KEI NISHIKORI: I think little chance, but there is not players in Japan. That's the only thing, I guess.

Q. Do you know Shuozo?

KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah.

Q. Have you spoken with him?

KEI NISHIKORI: Sometimes, yeah.

Q. Does he give you advice or some words of wisdom?

KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah. He send me e‑mails sometimes, like so many positive things for me, yeah.

Q. Do you remember him playing, seeing pictures of him playing?

KEI NISHIKORI: I haven't seen, but I know he was great player.

Q. How recognizable of an athlete are you in Japan like when you walk down the street? Are you pretty much known?

KEI NISHIKORI: No, no. I don't think so.

In a tennis tournament, yeah.

Q. When did you start to cramp in the match?

KEI NISHIKORI: 3‑2, the fourth set.

Q. 3‑2, fourth set?

KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah.

Q. And you retired at Wimbledon. Was that because of cramping, also?

KEI NISHIKORI: No, it was my stomach, the muscle.

Q. Stomach muscle?

KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah.

Q. You mentioned Shuozo. Were you familiar with him cramping here and how that became a very famous...

KEI NISHIKORI: Oh, I know, yeah.

Q. Did you think about that when you started cramping today?

KEI NISHIKORI: No. No, I couldn't think anything. I just thought now. (laughter.)

Q. Why the best Japanese tennis player doesn't play with a Yonex racquet?

KEI NISHIKORI: You mean me?

Q. Yeah.

KEI NISHIKORI: I used to use Wilson when I was 10, so...


(Script via U.S. Open website, images via menstennisforums.com)

Paradorn Srichaphan's wife on the Amazing Race Asia 3

The Amazing Race Asia is coming back for the third season!

I'm not so into this franchise reality show simply because it's filled with 'beautiful' contestants who are usually models, celebrities and gwai lous (caucasians).

One of the contestant in the new season, scheduled to be on TV this September, is a familiar face. She's Natalie Glebova, former Miss Universe in 2005 and also Thailand’s highest ranking (and once world #9) tennis player Paradorn Srichaphan.

Natalie & Pailin team on TARA 3

Paradorn and Natalie, the husband and wife team

Naturally, Paradorn was her first choice for a teammate. "But during the application period, he was busy with his tennis training as he's hoping to go back on tour next year," she explained.

As Natalie was gagged by the show's confidentiality clauses, she said Paradorn discovered her participation only two weeks ago, when it was officially announced.

So how did she keep it from her hubby?

"I travel a lot, hosting and presenting TV shows. It's been like this ever since we started dating, so he thought I was just going for work again."

"He was shocked when he found out (I was on the show). We had a good laugh about it."

She gushed that married life is 'really good' and Paradorn is a 'great husband who cares for her'.

The couple are planning to start a a family soon.

Awww... isn't that sweet?

(Via asiaonenews, The Amazing Race Asia AXN, t-pagent.com)

Rafael Nadal new look put on hold

When I posted Rafael Nadal's new Nike gear in fans Facebook group, everyone seems aren't ready for his that preppy look.

Hours before his first U.S. Open match against Bjorn Phau, Nadal decided that his game was more important than his wardrobe, telling his advisers and corporate sponsor Nike Inc. that he wasn't ready for an image makeover after all.

Cheers for the fans!!!!!

"Frankly, Nadal is on a roll," said Kilee Hughes, a spokesman for Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike, which designs Mr. Nadal's clothes. "We listen to the voice of the athlete."

And you listen to the fans too!

Nike had unveiled Mr. Nadal's new look after months of careful planning that began with a trip by Nike's design team to the star's home in Majorca, Spain.

The new lightweight shirt supposed to ensure that it wouldn't hinder Nadal's performance, and it created shorts designed to "move with him -- from baseline to net -- without chafing or bunching up."

But perhaps no one is more resistant to change than an athlete on a winning streak.

However, Nadal is still committed to switching to the new gear, perhaps at one of the smaller tournaments after the U.S. Open.

Now that he was the top player on the planet, Nadal was ready to bid farewell to the adolescent muscle T-shirts and Capri-style pants that had garnered nearly as much renown as his lightning strokes and adopt a more traditional tennis look.

"I am excited about evolving my on-court apparel with Nike to a polo and shorter-length short," Nadal said in a statement Monday afternoon.

"For the U.S. Open, however, we collectively decided I would continue wearing the apparel I've been competing in all year. It's a decision we made based on the limited time I've had to practice in the new apparel between the Olympics and the U.S. Open."

(Images via Yahoo! Sports, U. S. Open website, news via The Wall Street Journal)

US Open honours champions from the past in Opening Ceremony

The Unisphere and the grounds of the 2008 US Open.

Probably this is the grandest U.S. Open ever. This year’s Open is special as it marks the 40th Anniversary of the tournament and the first tournament of the Open Era.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg ushered in this year’s tournament by addressing the crowd, “On behalf of the city of New York, welcome to the one and only US Open."

Forest Whitaker

The host of the evening's festivities was Oscar winning actor Forrest Whitaker, who spoke about the history of the tournament.

Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, left, and her daughter, Camera, walk into Arthur Ashe Stadium, the facility named for her late husband, Arthur Ashe, during opening ceremonies at the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

In honor of that special moment in tennis history, Whitaker introduced a procession of 25 past champions of the tournament including Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe and her daughter Camera Ashe as well as Virginia Wade, the first women’s singles US Open champion.

Former U.S. Open champions Rod Laver, left, and Virginia Wade greet each other during opening ceremonies.

The Champions entered the stadium in chronological order of when they won their titles. Rod Laver, the only man to complete a Grand Slam in the history of tennis followed Wade. Billie Jean King, the winner of the US Open in 1971, 1972 and 1974, the winner of 39 Grand Slams and revolutionary figure for women’s sports entered Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center to rousing cheers from the crowd.

Chris Evert and John McEnroe were also hometown favorites as they took the stage. Martina Navratilova, the winner of 59 career slams, was present as was Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander and Monica Seles.

Billie Jean King

Martina Navratilova

Mats Wilander

Boris Becker

Tracy Austin

Chris Evert

Gabriela Sabatini

Ivan Lendl

John McEnroe

Champions still in the game – Lindsay Davenport, Marat Safin, Serena and Venus Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova and Roger Federer, the only man to win four consecutive US Open titles – were all introduced to the fans at Arthur Ashe.

Marat Safin

Maria Sharapova

Lindsay Davenport

Serena Williams

Venus Williams

Roger Federer

Andy Roddick

The fans were treated to the music of Earth Wind and Fire. Just as the ceremony closed, red, white and blue fireworks erupted atop the stadium.


(Images and text via Yahoo! Sports, U.S. Open website)