Kei Nishikori will surpass No. 46 in the ATP Tour rankings when they come out Monday, ensuring he becomes the highest-ranked Japanese player ever. That will trigger bonus provisions in all of his contracts, which could make him one of the top paid tennis players this year. “It is a very significant economic gain,” his agent, Olivier Van Lindonk, wrote in an e-mail. “All his contracts have `reaching 45’ bonuses in there.”’ His deals include adidas, Wilson, Sony, EA Sports, Wowow, and Uniqlo. With the bonuses he is likely to earn high seven figures this year, if not more.
What his ranking will be on Monday is not yet set because he is still playing in the Shanghai Rolex Masters, the event that put him over the top with two wins earlier this week. He had been ranked 47th in the rankings before the tournament, one shy of the Japanese record of 46 set by Shuzo Matsuoka in July ‘92. The win that formally put him over the top was his victory against Santiago Giraldo of Colombia. Perhaps no third-round ATP match ever had so much riding on it financially.
