'Happy' Nishikori wins Helsinki Challenger title
Kei Nishikori returned to the winner’s circle on Sunday.
The former No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings claimed his first title of the season when he won the ATP Challenger Tour event in Helsinki. He defeated Luca Nardi 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to triumph at the HPP Open.
“It’s great,” Nishikori said. “It’s been a long time since I won a title. This was a really tough week, tough final. Luca played really good in the final. I almost lost my chance, but I was able to play solid in the end.”
“It was not easy. Semi-final was tough, played two and a half hours and recovered for today and played another three sets. Not easy, but this is my last tournament of the year so I just tried to give 100 per cent for this match today and I think I did very well.”
Nishikori has won 25 of his past 29 matches on the ATP Challenger Tour dating back to the Dallas Challenger in 2018.
Happy! pic.twitter.com/4BHGANdRFL
— Kei Nishikori (@keinishikori) November 10, 2024
The 34-year-old was World No. 576 in August, but has quickly climbed towards the verge of the Top 100. The 12-time ATP Tour titlist reached the quarter-finals at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event in August and the quarter-finals in Tokyo.
“I’m close to the Top 100 now, so next goal is Top 50 and just keep winning,” Nishikori said when asked about his 2025 goals.
[ATP APP]Nishikori in the Helsinki quarter-finals defeated Jacob Fearnley in straight sets. Fearnley entered the match with a 27-3 record on the ATP Challenger Tour this year.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]