So who is this Kei Nishikori, who on Saturday added world No. 1 Novak Djokovic to his list of upset victims in this year's U.S. Open?
He's a history maker, for one. Before he became the first man from Asia to reach a Grand Slam final, Nishikori was the first Japanese man to make a semifinal of the United States championships since Ichiya Kumagae in 1918.
"(I'm) very honored to make the history," Nishikori said. "I always love to play here because I feel a little bit like home. Also a lot of Asian and Japanese fans come up. Always fun to play here. I always enjoy."
Already a superstar in his native country, Nishikori was also Japan's first male grand slam semifinalist since Jiro Satoh made it this far at Wimbledon in 1933. Kimiko Date Krumm, beaten in the first round last week with her 44th birthday looming, was a women's semifinalist in three grand slams in the mid-1990s, but not the U.S Open.
"A new star is born. His talent is beyond mine," said former Japanese tennis pro Shuzo Matsuoka.
"When he comes on the court now, he's a threat to everybody," said Darren Cahill, a former coach of Andre Agassi. "And I mean everybody."
Some background on the 24-year-old:
• While a Japanese national, the 5-foot-10, 150-pound Nishikori is another product of the famed Nick Bolletteri Academy in Florida, whose alumni include Andre Agassi and Maria Sharapova. Nishikori started playing tennis at the age of 5 and had so much talent that his family placed him in the legendary tennis academy when he was 14.
• When he turned 16, Nishikori was already ranked in the top 20 on the Juniors circuit and a year later made it into the top 300 on the ATP tour.
• This isn't Nishikori's first stellar showing in the U.S. Open. In 2008, the then-18-year-old advanced to the round of 16, stunning then-No. 4 seed David Ferrer in the process. That victory made him the youngest player to defeat a top four seed since a 17-year-old named Bjorn Borg upended third-seeded Arthur Ashe in 1973.
• Nishikori was coached at one point by Brad Gilbert. He currently is under the tutelage of Grand Slam winner Michael Chang.
• This isn't the first time he's faced Djokovic and won. In 2011, Nishikori beat an ailing Djokovic at the Swiss Indoors Basel tournament before falling in the final ... to none other than fellow U.S. Open semifinalist Roger Federer.
• Prior to this stellar U.S. Open run, Nishikori suffered a first-round loss at the French Open before bouncing back to the semifinals at the Gerry Weber Open (falling again to Federer) and a fourth-round finish at Wimbledon.
