#2 Kei Nishikori
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The Japanese has been in sensational form this year so far. He began his year by reaching the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International where he was surprisingly beaten by local boy Bernard Tomic in the final eight.
He followed this with a second successive quarter-final appearance at the Australian Open where he was beaten by eventual champion Novak Djokovic. Nishikori then won his 11th ATP title and fourth straight Memphis Open title by defeating American Taylor Fritz in the final which made him only the second man after Jimmy Connors to have won the title four times in a row.
After a quarter-final exit at Indian Wells, Nishikori his second Masters 1000 final at Miami where he was defeated by Novak Djokovic in straight sets. This was followed by another final at the Barcelona Open where Nishikori was beaten by Rafael Nadal.
His good form continued at the Mutua Madrid Open where he reached the semi-finals, being beaten by Djokovic and was beaten by Djokovic again in the semi-finals of the Italian Open. Nishikori reached the fourth round of the Roland Garros where he lost to an in-form Richard Gasquet.
His next Grand Slam also ended in a fourth round exit as he had to retire against Marin Cilic at Wimbledon. Nishikori then reached the final of the Rogers Cup before losing to Novak Djokovic. At the Rio Olympics, Nishikori became Japan’s first Olympic tennis medalist in 96 years by winning the bronze medal at the Singles tournament by beating Rafael Nadal in the playoff.
This was followed by an impressive performance at the US Open where he beat Wimbledon and Olympic champion Andy Murray in an exciting quarter-final to reach the semi-finals where he was beaten by eventual champion Stan Wawrinka. Nishikori is ranked fifth based on his performances in this year’s ATP World Tour and given his present form, the chances of his absence at the World Tour Finals in London are minimal.
