Win Or Lose, A Love Of Tennis Keeps Nishikori Motivated For More

Kei Nishikori
Kei Nishikori (photo: Miami Open/Hard Rock Stadium)

MIAMI/WASHINGTON, March 23, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)

Despite injury setbacks and the disappointment that comes with not being to compete, Japan’s Kei Nishikori said he never lost his motivation to play tennis, after losing his first-round match at the Miami Open Thursday.

Playing in his first ATP Tour match since last summer in Atlanta and first ATP Masters 1000 event since Indian Wells in 2021, the 34-year-old Japanese star lost to No. 40 Sebastian Ofner of Austria, 6-3, 6-4, in an hour and 19 minutes on the Grandstand. The 351st-ranked Nishikori, once ranked World No. 4, received a wild card into the Miami main draw. He brought a career win-loss record of 433-212 onto the court with him.

At times, Nishikori showed signs of his old self, the one who was once a six-time ATP 500 champion, four-time ATP Masters 1000 finalist, four-time Nitto ATP Finals qualifier and 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medalist.

However, by the end of his loss to Ofner, the 2014 US Open finalist had been outpointed 67-53, committed 17 unforced errors – 10 of them on his forehand – and won just 59 percent of his first-serve points.

“I was having a tough time making a lot of balls in the court,” Nishikori admitted. “Just the little things that I was not making. You know, maybe I was supposed to hit the corner, but the ball goes to the middle sometimes.”

Still, there were signs of hope.

“I never lose that motivation. It’s always there. Some reason I cannot explain, but some reason motivation is always there,” Nishikori explained in his post-match news conference. “I’m looking forward to getting my tennis back. Maybe it’s not going to be soon, but I will keep fighting.”

Nishikori has had to endure multiple injuries the past few seasons that have sidelined him for long periods of time. Since the start of 2022, after undergoing arthroscopic left hip surgery, he has played in just two ATP Tour events and three ATP Challenger Tour tournaments. However, Nishikori has maintained a positive outlook and he’s looking forward to getting back on court to continue his comeback.

“I just want to play a lot of matches,” Nishikori said. “Today, I was almost enjoying the match, but it wasn’t good enough to beat those Top 50 players. I think I’m happy enough with how I played today. Maybe not the best, but I’m looking forward to playing a couple of more tournaments.”

Nishikori hopes to play a lot on clay in the coming months, a surface he’s always enjoyed competing on. His career record on clay is 103-47 and he’s won two of his 12 career titles on it. “I’m hoping to play Houston, Barcelona, Madrid, the clay-court season. I like clay, I have a good record playing on clay,” he said. “So, I hope I can play good couple matches there. I know it’s going to be a tough field, but if I keep losing in the first round, maybe I will play some Challengers.”

Looking forward, Nishikori hopes he can remain healthy. “I think that’s the only goal this year, try to play as many matches as I can,” he said. “Physically, that’s the toughest thing. I almost came back last summer. I played six, seven matches and then my body got hurt again.”

Around the Miami Open

Following a six-hour rain delay Friday that pushed the start of play past 5 p.m. local time, No. 60 Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic scored his first career Top-10 triumph after defeating World No. 6 and fifth seed Andrey Rublev of Russia in 65 minutes, 6-4, 6-4, on Butch Buchholz Court.

Machac, who broke an 0-6 streak against Top-10 opponents, hit 17 winners, converted two of four break points, and outpointed Rublev 58-50. It’s the first time Machac has won consecutive ATP Masters 1000 matches.

Next, Machac will play either No. 62 Andy Murray of Great Britain or No. 29 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, whose match was suspended by rain at 3-all in the first set.

“It’s tough after a long day to feel emotions right now,” Machac said in an on-court interview, “but I was playing super well and my level was really high. I knew I had to play really aggressively against such a great player. I’m super happy I managed to win today.”

Also, No. 14 Ugo Humbert of France advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 77 Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands. The 15th-ranked Humbert hit 23 winners and outpointed his opponent 66-51 during the 87-minute match on Court 5. Next, Humbert will play either No. 18 seed Sebastian Baez of Argentina or No. 50 Dominik Koepfer of Germany.

All other men’s matches on Friday’s schedule were suspended or postponed by rain and rescheduled for Saturday.

Friday’s Miami Open results

Saturday’s Miami Open order of play

By the numbers

With his win over World No. 6 Andrey Rublev on Friday, Tomas Machac (8-5 this season) has risen to a career-high No. 55 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. He’s won consecutive matches in four of his past five tour-level events going back to the Australian Open.

“Quotable …”

“I just changed how I play a little bit. It’s a funny game if you hang around. It’s a funny score in tennis and you always have a chance of you hang in the second set.”

— Daniel Evans of Great Britain, during his on-court interview, following his 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 first-round win over Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego on Thursday.

 

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