he has the offensive ability of Fernando González and the defensive skills of Novak Djokovic. Many critics and fellow players have said that Nishikori's two handed backhand is one of the best on the tour, on par with that of Djokovic and Murray. Under the coaching of Michael Chang, Nishikori has gained the habit of taking balls earlier without compromising consistency, reminiscent of Andre Agassi, allowing him to take time away from his opponents. Nishikori has a slightly unusual style of hitting groundstrokes on both wings, winding up the racket with a short but compact backswing, and hitting the ball right at its peak. These make his groundstrokes powerful, accurate and unpredictable due to the delayed backswing, which prevents opponents from anticipating which direction the ball will go. He has also been praised for his return of serves, which he executes well due to his ability to take them quickly. He is known to hit winners off return of serves with strong and accurate groundstrokes. Although his serve is not exceptionally strong, it is consistent enough to prevent opponents from easily winning points off it. He has a flat first serve that can reach speeds of up to 120 mph and employs a topspin second serve. Nishikori holds one of the highest percentages of deciding set wins in the Open Era. Career statistics Grand Slam tournament performance timeline Grand Slam finals Singles: 1 (1 runner-up) References External links ATP Heritage: Project 45 No Longer A Secret 1989 births Living people Japanese male tennis players Olympic tennis players of Japan Olympic medalists in tennis Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Japan Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' doubles French Open junior champions Sportspeople from Bradenton, Florida Sportspeople from Shimane Prefecture Japanese expatriate sportspeople in the United States 20th-century Japanese people 21st-century Japanese people