STRANGE DATE. Federer to play an exhibition with Nishikori in Japan (Tokyo) after

Current world number 3 Roger Federer will have a busy schedule in the next few weeks. The Swiss national and 20 time Grand Slam champion will play in the Laver Cup in September where he will feature for team Europe together with Rafael Nadal. After the Laver Cup, the 38-year-old will move to Asia to take part in the ATP Shanghai Masters. After Shanghai, Federer is set to play an exhibition match against Japanese tennis star Kei Nishikori in Japan.

Strange timing

Federer and the 8^th ranked Nishikori will participate in the exhibition match on October 14^th, 2019, just one day after the Rolex Shanghai Masters ends. The exhibition match is sponsored by Uniqlo, a clothing company based in Japan. Federer signed a deal worth $300 million dollars over 10 years in 2018. Federer and Nishikori are set to play in the Shanghai Masters and the date set for the exhibition match is strange given that players may be injured or fatigued after a tournament, especially if they make a deep run to the finals or semi-finals.

2020 Tokyo Olympics

Federer confirmed the exhibition match and said that he was looking forward to playing in Japan. “Of course I’d love to play in Japan more often.Japan is one of those places I really enjoy visiting. Thanks to my connection with Uniqlo, I have so many Japanese friends now.” When asked if he would be participating in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Federer remained coy about his chances and said only time would tell. “I hope we can make it this year and the next. Plus, there’s the Olympics coming up in 2020. Although who knows if I’ll have a chance to play. We shall see.” Federer has never won Olympic singles gold, but he won doubles gold for Switzerland with Stan Wawrinka at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Proceeds go to charity

Federer has faced Nishikori 11 times over the course of his career and he has an 8-3 record against the Japanese player. The event will be held at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan. Tickets for the event will be on sale on September 21^st.  A men wheelchair singles match between Shingo Kunieda and Gordon Reed will start of the event followed by the singles match between Nishikori and Federer. Proceeds from the exhibition match will go towards supporting Uniqlo’s charity efforts. Uniqlo CEO Tadashi Yanai confirmed the charity event and praised the two brand ambassadors. “We are happy to invite our global ambassadors in Tokyo to play a charity match. This tennis match will help our social activity.”

Roger Federer’s ranking and performance in 2019

Ranked no.3, the Swiss played his last match on the 3^rd of September when he was defeated by Grigor Dimitrov 3-6 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-2 in the quarter in U.S. Open.

This year the Swiss has a 43-7 win-loss record. Roger conquered 3 titles in 2019 in Dubai, in Miami and in Halle. The Swiss was the finalist in Indian Wells and in Wimbledon.

Kei Nishikori’s ranking and performance in 2019

Ranked no.8, the Japanese played his last match on the 30^th of August when he surrendered to Alex De Minaur 6-2 6-4 2-6 6-3 in the 3^rd round in U.S. Open.

This year the Japanese has a 29-14 win-loss record. The Japanese conquered 1 title in Brisbane.

Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori played each other 11 times. The head to head is 8-3 for Federer.

The last time that they competed against each other, Roger Federer won 4-6 6-1 6-4 6-4 in the quarter in Wimbledon in 10^th July 2019.

Here the highlights.