World number four Kei Nishikori has qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals in London for the third straight year and will compete against the world's top eight in the most prestigious tournament on the ATP calendar. Although having to withdraw from the Asian swing, his efforts earlier in the year topped off with his semi-final appearance at the US Open are enough for him to clinch a spot at the O2 Arena in London. Nishikori's spot seals the fifth place at the World Tour Finals, with only three more spots still available. He'll join Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic.
Third appearance at the O2 Arena
Nishikori reached the semi-finals of the World Tour Finals when he first qualified in 2014, with wins over Andy Murray and David Ferrer and a loss to Roger Federer. He lost out to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in three sets in the semi-finals, but a semi-final appearance during his first time at the O2 is something to be proud of. His 2015 appearance didn't hold quite as much success as he was placed in a nightmare group alongside Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Tomas Berdych. Nishikori managed the one win over Berdych but lost out to Djokovic in straight sets and Federer in three tight sets meaning he didn't qualify for the semi-finals.
Year of ups and downs
Nishikori started this year with a quarter-final showing at the Australian Open, followed by his fourth straight title at the Memphis Open. He went on to reach his second Masters 1000 final at the Miami Open where he lost out to Novak Djokovic. The world number four had a decent year on the clay. He started off by making the final at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and followed with semi-final appearances at both the Madrid and Rome Masters and a fourth round showing at Roland Garros. Nishikori's grass season was halted by injury, as he retired from matches in both Halle and Wimbledon, but he recovered well to make the final at the Rogers Cup and claim the bronze medal at the Rio Olympics.
The excellent run continued into the US Open where he took out world number two Andy Murray to make the semi-finals, before losing out the eventual champion Stan Wawrinka. An injury caused Nishikori to retire in Tokyo and pull out of Shanghai, but he'll have the opportunity to recover his season in the last Masters event of the year before heading to the World Tour Finals.
