Nishikori Enjoying New Journey: 'My Goal Is To Return To Top 10'
The abiding memory of Kei Nishikori at his very best is taking his aggressive baseline game to the world’s premier players. But since finishing in the year-end Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the fourth time in 2018, the Japanese superstar has experienced a catalogue of injuries — notably to his right wrist, right elbow and right shoulder.
Now aged 31, Nishikori is working harder than ever to return to his peak performance days, under the guidance of Michael Chang and Max Mirnyi, who both relied upon superb conditioning during their own careers.
“If I want to come back to my level before, I have to be tough,” said Nishikori at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday. “You have to think more, and you have many more expectations. But the way I think now, is [that] this is my second [career] journey.
“I had elbow surgery two years ago, a shoulder injury last year and couldn’t play three or four months. I’ve had many injuries. I have to be happy, and I’ve been playing well [over] the past two weeks. My goal is to return to the Top 10, [the] Top 5 hopefully. I think it will be a long way back, because everyone is playing well. I have to step up more against Top 50 opponents, but I’ve been enjoying the challenge.”
Nishikori, who is currently No. 41 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, admitted to nerves in battling past fifth-seeded Belgian David Goffin 6-3, 7-6(3) over one hour and 53 minutes on Tuesday for a place in the Dubai third round.
“I was a little bit tight, especially the match points [at 6-5 in the second set],” said Nishikori. “He started to play much better from the middle of the second set. I was under pressure in my service games. There were many Deuces and at the end of the second set he was much more aggressive and he made me more defensive. I made a couple of easy mistakes, which made the games tougher.”
Nishikori will next play Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene at the Aviation Club in Dubai. He is competing in just his ninth tournament since returning to the ATP Tour after a 12-month absence in August 2020.