"Last year we knocked on the door. This year we pounded on it. Next year we're gonna kick it in."
The words of the late football coach Bum Phillips come to mind when thinking of the continuing ascension of Kei Nishikori.
Still only 24, and not yet in his prime, Japan's highest-ranked male player ever believes he is close to breaking through in a major tournament. Just last month Nishikori beat 17-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer for the second straight time.