Kei Nishikori played on the ATP Tour for the first time since October 2021, and he is already off the mark.
The Japanese star defeated Australia's Jordan Thomspon 7-6, 7-6 to progress into the Round of 16 at the Atlanta Open. Nishikori geared up for his comeback by playing in three ATP Challenger tournaments in recent weeks in order to sharpen his fitness and refine his game.
Nishikori spent the entire 2022 season recovering from career-threatening hip surgery. And when he was getting ready to return in January this season, he suffered a freak ankle sprain at the back end of last year, setting him back another five months.
But patience has finally paid off as Nishikori made a splendid return at the Palmas del Mar Challenger last month, winning not just his first match in over 18 months, but the tournament. He didn't set the world alight in his next two tournaments on the ATP's second tier, but he found some rhythm in his game and sufficiently tested his surgically-repaired hip without feeling any ill effects.
"After eight or nine months of rehab after the hip surgery I was almost ready to come back when I sprained my ankle."
"Once or twice I almost thought [about retiring]. It was mentally shocking to be so close and then to have a second injury. I wasn’t sure if I could come back from that. So that was the toughest time."
On Tuesday afternoon, Nishikori picked up a confidence-boosting win in the opening round of the Atlanta Open, an event he last played 11 years ago. And the former ATP world number four was pleased to scale a difficult hurdle against an in-form Thompson who had won 12 of his past 18 matches.
"It was very emotional after everything that it took to get back. ’m just so happy to be back here playing."
"Not [an] easy first round against Jordan. He's very steady from the baseline. He doesn't miss much and I have to be aggressive all the time. But I'm quite happy with the way I played today. There were some moments that I should have stepped up a little more. But with these tough conditions, I'm happy to win in two sets."
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