Kei Nishikori hoping to win his first Grand Slam or Masters 1000 soon

Japan's Kei Nishikori, who reached the final of the 2014 US Open, is still aiming to win a big title in tennis.

Nishikori has won 12 ATP titles, but has yet to win a Masters 1000 or a Grand Slam. This season, the 29-year-old reached the Australian Open quarterfinals, retiring while playing Novak Djokovic. He fell to Rafael Nadal in the French Open quarterfinals, and then lost to Roger Federer in the same round at Wimbledon.

“I hope I can be the one to beat top three, but I feel like those three guys are still different level,” Nishikori said.

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Still, players are scoring occasional wins against the legendary trio, Nishikori notes.

“But you see [Dominic] Thiem playing [the French Open] final, [and] last year Thiem played a great match against Rafa here," said Nishikori. "And I think a couple of guys are getting closer. Of course Sascha [Zverev] is great player and couple young guys, you know, Felix [Auger-Aliassime], [Denis] Shapovalov, [Nick] Kyrgios, those couple guys who are coming up, too.

"Maybe few years I'm sure it's going to change a little bit. Oh, yeah, last week, [Daniil] Medvedev beat Djoko and winning first title [at Cincinnati]."

Though he's older than this group, Nishikori would like to do likewise.

"I think things are starting changing a little bit now," he said. "I hope I can sneak in there and win the title sometimes. For me, that's going to be my big goal, to win a Masters or Grand Slams.”

Ranked No. 7 starting the US Open, he has won his first two rounds. Nishikori next plays another young player, 20-year-old Alex de Minaur, in the third round.

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