Kei Nishikori’s Practice Session Draws Huge Crowd at Rakuten Open
It’s not an obscure fact that Kei Nishikori is one of the most popular sportsperson in Japan. His reputation gained further accentuation when he hit the practice courts on Sunday.
Just hours before the main draw of the ATP 500 Rakuten Open in Tokyo gets underway, the local fans rushed in numbers to see their favourite player hit the practice courts here.
According to a tweet by coach/commentator Masahide Sakamoto, the 26-year-old’s practice session was surrounded by a crowd of over 9000 people. Spectacular, isn’t it?
Meanwhile, Nishikori has got the top billing for the tournament, and is slated to begin his campaign against Spain’s former top-10 player Nicolas Almagro.
The match is scheduled to commence “not before 4:00 pm” local time on Monday. Nishikori leads the head-to-head record by 2-1 against Almagro.
Officials told me 9000+more people are here2watch Kei’s practice.
Yes, that’s right, His Practice ….
Amazing popularity…@rakutenopen pic.twitter.com/mcvSUn2IYw— Masahide Sakamoto (@hide_sakamoto) October 2, 2016
