Japan’s Kei Nishikori makes history at Australian Open

Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese male to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open since 1932 when he held on to earn a shock five-set win over sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Monday. Nishikori, ranked 26th in the world, blew a two-set lead before beating the Frenchman for the second time in his career, triumphing 2-6 6-2 6-1 3-6 6-3 in three and a half hours.

The 22-year-old  is the first Japanese male player to reach the last eight of one of the four majors since Shuzo Matsuoka at Wimbledon in 1995. “This is the first quarterfinal for me,” an exhausted Nishikori, told reporters after his second successive five-set match.

Nishikori said he hoped he could inspire Asian men’s players, as China’s Li Na did for the region’s women last year by reaching the Australian Open final and then winning the French Open…

via Japan’s Nishikori makes history at Australian Open – CNN.com.