Kei Nishikori was unable to overcome the most formidable obstacle in tennis in his bid for a second straight Olympic medal.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia proved too much for the host country's star, eliminating him in straight sets 6-2, 6-0 in their men's singles quarterfinal match on Thursday at Ariake Tennis Park.
Japan's presence in tennis at the Tokyo Olympics was ended later in the day, when
Japan's Ben McLachlan and Ena Shibahara lost a grueling mixed doubles quarterfinal battle with No. 4 seed Russian Olympic Committee pair of Andrey Rublev and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova that was decided by a 10-8 third-set super tie break.
Nishikori went into Thursday's match against Djokovic having lost his last 15 matches against the Serbian, giving him quite a wall to get over in order to make the semifinals and keep alive his chance of adding to the bronze medal he won at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Nishikori managed to have the upper hand at times with his aggressive rallies, but still dropped his first service game in both sets. With his own flawless play, Djokovic constantly kept Nishikori from finding any openings by neutralizing his strengths.
"He made it hard from every aspect, and I couldn't do anything to keep him from completely controlling the match," Nishikori said.
Although playing in an individual event, Nishikori views the Olympics differently than usual pro tournaments.
"Playing in Olympics is not just for me," he said. "I wanted to perform for people who have supported me and those have big dreams for the future. I'm disappointed not to reach a medal, but I gave everything I had."
As team captain, it was Nishikori himself who decided to also play in the doubles competition, in which he lost in the quarterfinals. Playing alongside his compatriots, he regained his court sense and confidence.
"I gained a lot in this one week," Nishikori said.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
