Nishikori Feeling At Home At Miami Open

To Kei Nishikori, everything is just about perfect at the Miami Open presented by Itau, the season’s second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, which kicks off on Wednesday.

The tournament’s location, the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, is only a four-hour drive from where Nishikori lives and trains year-round, in Bradenton, Florida. The south Florida conditions – quick and fast – suit the aggressive Japanese player.

The only thing missing from making the Miami event perhaps Nishikori’s absolute perfect tournament has been the lack of a title. The 27 year old is searching for his first Miami crown, which he’ll try to land during the next two weeks.

“I feel very relaxed here, very open… I feel like I’m at home,” Nishikori said on Tuesday during his pre-tournament press conference.

Nishikori came close to his maiden Masters 1000 title in Miami last year, falling to Novak Djokovic in the final. It was Nishikori’s second Masters 1000 title match (also 2014 Madrid). But the two weeks still served as a momentum-building tournament for Nishikori, who beat four Top 30 players, including Gael Monfils and Nick Kyrgios, en route to the final.

The Shimane native has rarely had a poor showing in south Florida. Of his seven prior appearances, he’s advanced to at least the fourth round five times times, including a semi-final showing in 2014 (l. to Djokovic) and a quarter-final run in 2015 (l. to Isner). “I have good memories here,” Nishikori said.

The 5’10” right-hander kicked off the 2017 Masters 1000 calendar positively last week, reaching the quarter-finals at the BNP Paribas Open (l. to Sock). “I was playing great tennis. Unfortunately I lost in the quarter-finals but still I was playing good,” he said. “My tennis is getting much better, getting more solid.”

Nishikori is the second seed in Miami. He receives a first-round bye and will face Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic or former Top 10 player Kevin Anderson in the second round.