Kei Nishikori is still trying to make a comeback to the top level of the ATP Tour, and he made another step towards it in Helsinki.
The Japanese player is one of the best ball strikers on the ATP Tour, and even though he possesses this incredible talent, he is not one of the most healthy players.
Throughout his tennis career, Nishikori struggled with multiple injuries, and in recent years, he struggled to stay on the tennis courts for an extended period of time.
He finished the 2020 season with only 10 matches and the 2021 season as the World No. 47. Last year, Nishikori attempted a comeback, and he won his first tournament back, which was incredibly impressive.
After that, however, he had to stop his comeback again. Now, the former World No. 4 is back on the tennis courts, and he put together some impressive runs on the ATP Challenger Tour.
He first competed in Bratislava, Slovakia, beating Martin Fucsovics 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, Lukas Klein 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-1, and Constant Lestienne 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, before he was stopped by Roman Safiullin, who bested him 6-4, 6-3.
Nishikori didn't wait around. He packed his bags in the Slovak capital, and quickly moved to Finnish capital, Helsinki, for yet another ATP Challenger tournament.
In the first round of the tournament, the 34-year-old outplayed Nicolas Alvarez Varona 6-4, 6-2, and in the second round, he managed to emerge victorious against Jerome Kym, winning 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.
His next two matches weren't any easier. Nishikori first had to beat Jacob Fearnley 6-4, 6-3 before he needed three sets to overcome Max Hans Rehberg, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-2.
All of those victories got him to the final match against the fifth-seeded Luca Nardi from Italy, who was having a good run himself and wanted to end it with the winner's trophy in his hands.
The Italian player started well, as he was the better player in the opening set of the match. Nardi broke his opponent's serve twice but was broken once. That didn't matter as he maintained the one-break advantage to win the first set of the match 6-3.
But Nishikori was the better player in the remainder of the match. He won the second set 6-4 to force the decider, and he was too good for Nardi in the third set of the match.
Nishikori won the match 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to claim the trophy in Helsinki, which will be essential for his 2025 season. The Japanese player will move up to 107th position in the ATP Rankings, which will allow him to qualify for more tournaments. On top of that, it certainly didn't hurt his confidence to win a trophy again—quite the opposite.