Nishikori's erratic loss to Murray reflects his French Open

yeah you might as well. It sure helps to boost the quality of discussion here when you do, especially when coupled with complaints about the Japanese tv commentary you rightly note people are forced to listen to.

Here, here!

Nishikori is good, but he just does not have the size and stamina to keep up with the top guys

ala Nadal, Federer,Joker, and Murray. I think he has great athleticism for his size, but the others

just are bigger and stronger. He has to work so hard just to keep up with them. That is just my opinion

though. I am no tennis expert, just a fan of the sport.

Pukey2: It's bad enough having to listen to Murray muttering to himself, trying to get the devil out of himself.

Ha! This is spot-on.

I posted critically of Nishikori's play during the Murray match, but let me balance it out with an observation that isn't getting much attention: despite his terrible start to the 2017 season, Nishikori did manage to 1) match his best-ever career French result with a QF appearance, and 2) register now 6 consecutive Grand Slam appearances with a 4th round or better result. Are they titles? No. But it's still progress and encouraging signs for Nishikori fans.

fxgai: "yeah you might as well. It sure helps to boost the quality of discussion here when you do,"

When it's the truth, it certainly beats the complaints about injuries and how great he is when he's not doing great at all, which is what you're asking people only to post. If you want to raise the quality of the discussion, feel free to give constructive criticism on how he has done badly but could improve, instead of blaming it on injuries, the court, the ball, or other excuses.

Can we just say he just doesn't have what it takes?

yeah you might as well. It sure helps to boost the quality of discussion here when you do, especially when coupled with complaints about the Japanese tv commentary you rightly note people are forced to listen to.

smithinjapan:

smashing racquets and doing Christ poses in the middle of matches

I didn't watch this (too late at night, no TV, and damn sick of the biased commentary). What is this Christ pose? I hope it's nothing to do with his coach, Chang, who was always preaching on court.

I do wonder whether someone in his camp decided it might be a good idea if he were to snap now and again on court, and do something wacky like smash his racket just to up his street cred. Come on, it doesn't suit you! It might suit someone like Kyrgios to a tee, rude and obnoxious (ask Wawrinka), but it's not you! But carry on like that if you want.

It's bad enough having to listen to Murray muttering to himself, trying to get the devil out of himself. You'd have to be brave to caution him on his time-wasting (and people say Nadal is bad) lest he explode in your face.

Yeah, his physical condition wasn't good, blah blah blah. There was no mention of any injury. Can we just say he just doesn't have what it takes? At least nobody is talking about physical condition with the top two ranked players - they don't need excuses - they were just playing crap and they know it. Of course there's still time - after all, Wawrinka didn't start winning Slams until he was about 29, but time is running out. And there are younger players catching up.

Nishikori played to his seeding at the French this year, and there's no shame in a loss to #1 Murray, so the overall result of the tournament sheds no new light on Nishikori's progress (or lack thereof). He played lights-out in that first set. I've rarely seen Nishikori dominate in such a fashion, with very heavy groundstrokes and just dominating play. His big talent was on full display. But Murray pulled it together in the 2nd set, seemingly getting fired up after being issued the time penalty on his service game, and Nishikori's hot streak fell apart when facing Murray's revived fire. From this observer's standpoint, Nishikori's injury issues really didn't seem to play any role in this match - but the inconsistent mental game sure did.

smithinjapan: He is becoming a petulant child, smashing racquets and doing Christ poses in the middle of matches

I agree. His body language when losing is childish. He needs to put a stop to all that.

It's always about "how great Nishikori played", or "how bad Nishikori's condition was" + the myriad of excuses ("clay is his enemy", Etc.). Never about the skill and talent of the other players. He is becoming a petulant child, smashing racquets and doing Christ poses in the middle of matches, and the supporters who have said time and again "this will be his year" are being forced to fall back more than usual on the "sure hope his wrist/back/legs/fatigue get better" etc. if his condition is always a problem, or he can't handle the courts, he should retire. If he continues, the media at the very least needs to stop making excuses when he plays poorly. Everyone does, so just call it what it is. Okay

His body language says it all. Murray has been going through something similar. Nadal seems to have come through his period of trial and tribulation. How much do you want it? Ultimately this is a question he will have to answer internally. Must be really frustrating right now.

Looks like Nishikori is going back to school with that red color “randoseru” (ランドセル). Not bad (!)

You gotta hand it to him for being tenacious. Don't give up!

His physical issues are probably a big contributor to his head issues, but well done the him for fighting enough to make the QFs. He could have been completely fit and still see his run end here to Murray so I think he can be happy with it this time.

Personally I hope he'll take more than just a few days to get fully fit again before Wimbledon, although playing a grass warmup would be ideal.

Well, I try to take couple days off, because I have some issues with my body right now," the 27-year-old said. "Recover first and try to be ready for Wimbledon."

No knowing the details, but it sure seemed to me that the "issues with his body" was between his ears.