Del Potro into Japan Open semis; Nishikori out

To be fair to Nishikori, this is the first time I've heard him talk-up his prospects prior to a tournament. He is usually the most humble player on the circuit, so I was surprised to hear him talking up his chances prior to the Japan Open this year.

Maybe concentrate more on the strength and conditioning work, Kei, to minimise the injury concerns which seem to dog you. Keep up the good work, Kei, and try not to become discouraged. Your strongest years await. With perseverance you should be able to achieve your top-10 goal and also push for a grand slam victory sometime in the 25-30 y/o range

Yeah, Nishikori needs to pull his head in and let the tennis do the talking. Cliches and cliches, that's all he should be speaking for the time being.

Good on all those advancing, and tough luck for Nishikori. He's still got plenty of time to improve, though (maybe less tough talk before the event, too).