Nishikori bags 'gold mine' from sponsor for splashing brand at US Open

Japanese tennis ace Kei Nishikori might have lost the US Open final, but he has bagged a 9,40,000 dollars special bonus from a sponsor, who is delighted about watching its brand splashed across screens worldwide.

Fast Retailing and its charismatic President Tadashi Yanai will each give 50 million yen to Nishikori, the US Open runner-up, who lost in straight sets to Croatian giant Marin Cilic.

The casual-clothing firm, which operates the 'Uniqlo' brand, saw a run on shirts worn by Japan's best male tennis star during the tournament at Flushing Meadows, which feature the cheap-chic brand's logo, Sport24 reported.

A company spokesman said that the firm wanted to congratulate Japan's tennis ace and celebrate his achievement, and to reward him for boosting both Uniqlo's brand image and the morale of its workers.

The spokesman said that they wanted to celebrate Nishikori's historic achievement, and added that the bonus was also meant to show their continued support as the world number eight aims to be the world's number one.

The bonus comes on top of a runner-up's purse of 1.45 million dollars.

Nishikori became the first Japanese and the first Asian man to play in a Grand Slam singles final, after defeating world number-one Novak Djokovic, who is also sponsored by Uniqlo, the report added.