When Miki Ando takes the ice at the Big Hat in Nagano on Friday she will be looking to notch a Grand Prix victory for Nikolai Morozov's stable of skaters for the fourth straight weekend.
Ando, who opened her season with a victory at the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow last month, will try to extend the Russian coach's string of success at the NHK Trophy, after Nobunari Oda began the GP campaign with a victory in the Trophee Bompard in Paris, before adding his second GP crown at the Cup of China last weekend.
"Miki is skating very well," Morozov said by telephone after arriving in Japan from Beijing on Monday. "She has been working hard in practice and is very determined. I think it shows in her performance."