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Prince of Tennis Creator Commentates for NHK at All Australian Open

With the Australian Open on its way to wrapping up, tennis fans are gripping their seats with excitement. During times like these, it is the duty of all good sports programs to bring commentary that can convey just that sort of excitement. This past week, NHK's headliner sports news program Saturday Sports did just that by inviting a very special guest to appear and provide commentary, none other than Takeshi Konomi, the author of Prince of Tennis.

Konomi's appearance, which was broadcast live on January 24 at 9:50PM JST, provided live commentary on the Australian Open as Japan's representative Kei Nishikori battled the U.S.'s Steve Johnson in his third match of the tournament. The match resulted in a win for Nishikori, moving him up into the fourth round. Nishikori would continue on until he was eliminated in the Quarterfinals.

In addition to his commentary on Nishikori's match, Konomi appeared previously on Saturday Sports. Appropriate to his expertise in atheletic bishonen characters, Konomi's topic for that appearance was on explaining what goes into Nishikori's appeal.

The night before his January 24 appearance, an excited Konomi posted about his invitation to be on the show via his Twitter account, making a joke about possibly wearing the American jersey worn by Prince of Tennis's Ryoma (pictured left).

[Via Nijimen and Comic Natalie]