There haven’t been many successful tennis players who hailed from Japan. For the most part spectators may only know female players, Ai Sugiyama and Shinobu Asagoe. But already this season, there is a new standout Japanese player, and this time on the ATP tour. Kei Nishikori is young and fresh off a tour title, so just how far can the Japanese star go?

He may be ranked outside the world's Top 120, but already this season he has risen over 140 positions in the rankings to stand where he currently does.  Even more outstanding, he has accomplished this feat after competing in only three events.

In his first event of the year, he came up short in the challenger event held in Miami, withdrawing in the semi-finals. But the story was completely different when he competed in Delray Beach, Florida.

Taking on a field with competitors all ranked higher than him, not many expected him to make a run to the final. After defeating Florian Mayer in the first round, he went on to beat four American’s to hoist his first trophy.While facing Sam Querrey in the semi-finals, he was forced to stave off a few match points, but nothing could stop him from claiming his first title.

During the championship match, the top seed was of course the heavy favorite, and no one expected resistance form the young man facing him across the net.  But after dropping the first set 3-6 he began to dominate. James Blake couldn’t find the answer against Nishikori, and his Japanese opponent won 3-6 6-4 6-4.

At the age of 19 he seems to be one of the brightest up-and-coming stars of the ATP tour. Out of nowhere he has stunned the tennis world. Not only has he proved that he can perform well under pressure, but also he is capable of stunning some of the world’s best players.