'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

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.

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.

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