3-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka is back in top form: he defeated number one seed Kei Nishikori in a thrilling 3-set match to advance to the Rotterdam final. Nishikori was bidding to reach his second final of the season, following his victory in Brisbane last month.

The Swiss had beaten his friend Benoît Paire and then Canadians Milos Raonic and Denis Shapovalov to reach the last 4. It will be his second Rotterdam final – he claimed the title here in 2015 defeating Tomas Berdych – his first final since his loss to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros 2017.

In the other semifinal Gael Monfils took his revenge over Daniil Medvedev, who had took the better of him in the semifinals of the Sofia Open last week. Like Wawrinka, Monfils will play his second Rotterdam final – he lost to Martin Klizan in 2016, and his 29th overall. The Frenchman has a terrible record, having only won 7 out of 28 finals (16 out of 28 for the Swiss).

Photo credit: Marianne Bevis

A perfect start of the season for Nishikori, as he claimed his 12th career title in Brisbane, his first since February 2016, after nine consecutive final losses.
He will hit the Melbourne courts wearing his new colorful Uniqlo outfit. The shirt is available in two color ranges: pink/orange/green and yellow/dark green/brown. Do you like the vivid colors? Really different from Federer’s kit, don’t you think?

Finally a trophy for Kei Nishikori! After nine consecutive defeats in finals, the Japanese defeated NextGen player Daniil Medvedev to claim his 12th career title, his first since February 2016 in Memphis.

“I was trying in every final and every tournament… I played a great match against Dimitrov and today’s match was another good tennis [match]. I’m sure Daniil is going to be [in the] Top 10 soon.”

Daniil Medvedev is definitely a player to watch: he won his first ATP title in Sydney last year (d. De Minaur) before wins in Winston-Salem (d. Johnson) and Tokyo (d. Nishikori). In 2018, Medvedev led the ATP Tour with 38 hard-court victories (38-15). As Nishikori stated it, he could reach the top 10 quickly.

Read more:
– Fourth Memphis Open trophy for Kei Nishikori

Photo credit: Andrew Robertson

Kei Nishikori came back after a 5-month injury hiatus and started his 2018 season by playing challenger tour events. He’s had quite a few good results since then on the main tour with a semifinal in New York, a final in the Monte Carlo Masters, and wins over Dimitrov, Cilic and Zverev.
He will try to match his best result in Roland Garros (quartefinals in 2015 and 2017) wearing a similar outfit to the one he wore last year in Paris, but in a different color range. The shirt is available in two colors: white and pink.

It seems Kei’s outfit is only available for sale in Japan.

Follow our Roland Garros 2018 coverage.

It’s that time of the year again, Roland Garros is just around the corner! Rafa Nadal will go for the undecima, a mind-blowing 11th Roland Garros title, while Simona Halep will be looking to finally win her maiden Grand Slam title.
Check out our Roland Garros guides, relieve some of the biggest defeats and triumphs of the past, and of course share your pictures, videos and stories!

Roland Garros visitor’s guide:

A trip down memory lane:

1956: First time at Roland Garros for Rod Laver

1960-1969:
Portrait of Manuel Santana, first Spaniard to capture a Grand Slam title in 1961
1967: Françoise Durr defeats Lesley Turner
1969: Rod Laver defeats Ken Rosewall

1970-1979:
Portrait of 6-time Roland Garros champion Bjorn Borg
Portrait of Adriano Panatta, the only player to beat Bjorn Borg at Roland Garros
1978: Virginia Ruzici defeats Mima Jausovec
1978: Bjorn Borg defeats Guillermo Vilas
Roland Garros 1978 in pictures

1980-1989:
1982: At the request of Monsieur Wilander
1982: first Grand Slam for Mats Wilander
1983: Yannick Noah defeats Mats Wilander
1984 French Open: Ivan Lendl defeats John McEnroe
1985 French Open: Chris Evert defeats Martina Navratilova
Roland Garros 1985: Mats Wilander defeats Ivan Lendl
Roland Garros 1988: bold Leconte swept aside by a Mats for all surfaces
Portrait of Natasha Zvereva, 1988 runner-up
Portrait of Arantxa Sanchez, 1989 French Open champion
Portrait of Michael Chang, 1989 French Open champion

1990-1999:
1990 French Open: Opposites attract, Gomez defeats Agassi
Roland Garros 1990: Defending champion Sanchez loses in the first round
Roland Garros 1990: Edberg and Becker lose in the first round
1991 French Open 3RD: Michael Chang defeats Jimmy Connors
1991 French Open final: Jim Courier defeats Andre Agassi
1996: An unflinching Edberg causes a grand upset
Roland Garros 1996: Pete Sampras run through the semi-finals
1997: Going ga-ga over Guga
Steffi Graf – Martina Hingis Roland Garros 1999

2000-2009:
2000: Mary Pierce finds peace and glory
2004: Coria vs Gaudio: the egotist vs the underdog
2005: Rafael Nadal defeats Mariano Puerta
2006: Nadal defeats Federer, wins second Roland Garros title

2010-2017:
A look back at Roland Garros 2011
A look back at Roland Garros 2014
A look back at Roland Garros 2015
3 days at Roland Garros 2017: Rafa, Andy, Petra and more

Pictures and Recaps:

Fashion and gear:

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