Kei Nishikori has revealed that he will work with former French Open champion Michael Chang in 2014 in a bid to take his game to the next level.
The 23-year-old has made encouraging strides over the past 12 months and is currently ranked 17th in the world after a season in which he reached the fourth round at both the Australian Open and at Roland Garros.
The Japanese ace has won three ATP titles to date, with victory in this season’s US National Indoor Tennis Championships in February being his latest triumph.
Nishikori has been working with Dante Bottini for the past couple of seasons and will continue to employ the Argentinian on a full-time basis, but Chang will come on board in the New Year to aid his preparation for Melbourne Park.
He will also be present at some of the regular ATP tournaments as well as in the run-up to all the Grand Slams, and Nishikori has taken to Twitter to announce the news.
“Excited to announce an addition to the team. Michael Chang will join us in 2014,” he tweeted.
Chang is well-placed to give advice to the talented youngster, having won his only Grand Slam title at the tender age of 17 when beating the great Stefan Edberg in the final of the 1989 French Open.
He was also a losing finalist in three more Grand Slams before retiring from the main tour in 2003 but Chang will now look to pass on his wisdom to the Florida resident as he looks to surpass his best ranking of 11th next season.
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