This is the 5th straight year Berdych has qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals. Kei Nishikori began the year in Brisbane, where he reached the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Lleyton Hewitt. At the 2014 Australian Open, he reached the fourth round for the third year in a row before losing to Rafael Nadal in straight sets. He won his first title of the year and first in two years at the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships, defeating Ivo Karlović in the final in straight sets. He reached the semifinals of the Sony Open Tennis, withdrawing before his match with Novak Djokovic due to a groin injury. Nishikori won his second title of the year in Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, defeating Santiago Giraldo in the final in straight sets. He made it to his first ever Masters 1000 final in Mutua Madrid Open, where he faced defending champion Nadal, winning the first set for the loss of two games before retiring in the third round with a back injury. His run in Madrid launched him to a career high ranking of 9th in the world. He returned at the French Open, however lost his opening match against Martin Kližan. At Wimbledon, he made it once again to the fourth round where he lost to Milos Raonic. A foot injury caused him to withdraw from both Toronto and Cincinnati, however he had his best run at a Grand Slam event at the US Open defeating Djokovic in the semifinals to reach his first ever Major final, where ultimately he lost in straight sets to Marin Cilic. In the Asian swing, Nishikori won back-to-back titles at the Malaysian Open and his home tournament in Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, defeating Julien Benneteau and Raonic respectively. At the Paris Masters, he reached the semifinals to cement his place at the World Tour Finals, where he is set to make his debut appearance. Milos Raonic had a breakthrough season. He made it to the third round at the Australian Open, losing to Grigor Dimitrov. He exited at the quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open, the Sony Open Tennis, and the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. Raonic made it to his first semifinal of the year, losing a tight three set battle against Novak Djokovic in Internazionali BNL d'Italia. At the French Open, he reached his first ever Grand Slam quarterfinal, where he lost to eventual finalist Djokovic.