10 Biggest Prospects On The ATP Tour

Kei Nishikori's run to the 2014 US Open final was a ground-breaking moment for Japanese tennis, and it inevitably played a major influence in the rise of Asian up-and-comer Yoshihito Nishioka.

At that same tournament, Nishioka was thrashed on his Grand Slam debut but since then, he has emerged as a major threat at the second tier and is starting to move closer to the world's top 100.

A year after Nishikori's runner-up finish, Nishioka came through three qualifying matches before winning his first main-draw match against Paul Henri-Mathieu at Flushing Meadows. He could not overcome Thomaz Belluci but it signalled his rise up the standings.

He ended 2015 with a Challenger title in his homeland before reaching the quarter-finals at the Memphis Open and making the last 32 at the Miami Masters, beating Feliciano Lopez along the way.

Nishioka still only has seven ATP Tour wins to his name as he moves closer to 21 years of age but there is no doubting that the talent is there. He may take time to fully adjust to the stronger hitting coming his way given his size disadvantage, but being a left-hander should aid him going forward  and he can be the future of Japanese tennis should he continue along his current path.