The Story of Nishikori Kei
New Crown English Series 3 pg. 108-111
| The Story of Nishikori Kei | |
|---|---|
| ? | |
| Details | |
| Word count | 479 |
| Book | New Crown |
| Grade | 3 |
| Year | ? |
"Game, set and match."
With these words, a new young champion, Nishikori Kei, came on the world's tennis scene. He was only 18 years old.
Give it all you've got
My tennis life began in Matsue City, Shimane, with a racket that my father bought. I was five. My father was my teacher. Little by little, my skills improved and my interests in the sport grew. I made a note in my elementary school yearbook: "I want to be the number one tennis player, first in Japan, and then in the world."
I practiced and practiced. I won many junior championship games. In this way, I found success at the sport I like very much.
My advice to you all is to find something that you like: a sport, a subject or an activity. And, when you do, give it all you've got.
The will to win
I am very shy and quiet, but once on the court, the shyness disappears. I play to win. I always have. Tennis was never just a game to me, even when I was a child. At that time, I cried when I lost a game. I soon learned that crying didn't help.
When I was 13, I made up my mind to go to a tennis academy in Florida. I practiced over eight hours a day. I played against older, stronger, bigger and better players. I lost a lot of games. I hated to lose. The more games I lost, the more strongly I wanted to win the next game. My will to win pushed me to victory.
Get your message across
I first went to the US with some Japanese friends. They left after about a year. I was homesick with no one to talk to. That didn't stop me.
Though I could not speak much English, I never stopped trying to talk with the coaches. For example, I wanted to tell them the thinking behind my serve. I wanted to ask for their advice to improve it.
I was never afraid of making mistakes in English. I learned from the mistakes I made. This positive attitude paid off. If you have something to say, keep trying. Then your message will get across.
Luck comes after a struggle
After I won a tournament for the first time, the pressure became intense. I fell into a slump, got injured, and was not at my best. At that time my mother reminded me of a note I wrote in elementary school, "Luck can come only when you go through hardship." Then I realized all these hardships were gifts.
After that my attitude and outlook changed. When I got lucky breaks in games, I was ready to take advantage of them. Later that year I was named "Newcomer of the Year" by the Association of Tennis Professionals.
Make your dreams come true!
Nishikori Kei
Note
The textbook says the word count is 475 words. Here the word count is 479.
