Gaku Shibasaki hopes he can take his first step onto the international stage Tuesday, hours after a fellow Aomori Yamada High School alumni tries to make sporting history with the world watching him — that being Kei Nishikori.
In New York on Monday, Nishikori will face Marin Cilic in the U.S. Open final, trying to become the first Asian man to win a Grand Slam title.
On the other side of the world, Kashima Antlers' Shibasaki, who is two years younger than Nishikori, will look to make his highly anticipated debut for Japan in a friendly against Venezuela at Nissan Stadium.