Historically the French Open has been a place of frustration for Yoshihito Nishioka.
Between 2015-2022, he has featured in the main draw at Roland Garros six times but never went beyond the second round. In fact, he only won three matches at the tournament during this period with the most high-profile of those being against Felix Auger-Aliassime in 2020. Paris isn’t the only Grand Slam where he has struggled. As it currently stands, he has recorded just two main draw wins at the US Open and one at Wimbledon.
However, this season has seen Nishioka’s fortunes at major events take a turn for the better. It began in January at the Australian Open where he reached the fourth round without losing a set before falling to Karen Khachanov. Now at this year’s French Open, he is a win away from becoming only the second man from his country to reach the quarter-final stage in the Open Era after Kei Nishikori.
Standing in the way of Nishioka’s Grand Slam milestone will be Argentina’s Tomás Martín Etcheverry who is a formidable clay court player that has reached two ATP Finals on the surface so far in 2023. Nishioka is ranked higher than his Argentina rival but in the eyes of his coach, Cristian Zahalka, this is irrelevant.
“There is no difference between a higher seed or unseeded player at this stage. Whoever is there is playing well,” Zahalka told Ubitennis.
“The Mental approach is the same. We have made some adjustments but I will be quiet about that.”
Zahalka began working with Nishioka last year and has a wealth of experience in the sport. In the past, he has been better known for working with those on the WTA Tour which include Marina Erakovic, Nadia Petrova, Kimiko Date and Misaki Doi.
Not working solely on the ATP Tour, what does he think separates Nishioka from others?
“He is very very quick and has a high tennis intellect. He is working hard to improve his offence and I think this is showing already,” Zahalka explained.
“He is also working on being mentally more stable/positive which is the most important part for any player. Emotions will always be there but how you react and deal with them is what makes all the difference.”
Nishioka, who is currently ranked 33 in the world, also agrees with his mentor that the mental side of tennis plays a crucial part. His win-loss record for this season currently stands at 13-9 with five of those victories being on the clay.
“I think I have the game to go beyond the fourth round. It’s more about your mind, how you approach it,” he said during an interview with rolandgarros.com.
“Of course, I want more, but first I can only look at a quarter-final. Last-eight club here or anywhere would be amazing.”
Nishioka’s match against Etcheverry will be the last match to take place on court Suzanne-Lenglen on Monday.
