Nishikori on Tokyo return: 'I might get tight'

There are not many greater feelings in the sport than triumphing at an ATP Tour event held on your home turf, and Kei Nishikori can say he has done it twice.

The Japanese star, who rose to a career-high of World No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings, has flirted with the possibility of returning to the winner’s circle in Tokyo but has admitted that nerves may be there as he prepares to compete at the ATP 500 event for the first time since 2018.

“It’s a big goal to win again this week,” Nishikori said ahead of the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, which gets underway on Wednesday. “I might get tight but I will try to enjoy it.”

Nishikori twice overcame the threat of Canadian Milos Raonic in the final to clinch the 2012 and 2014 titles in Tokyo and, after receiving a wild card this year, the 34-year-old is making his first appearance in the Japanese capital in six years.

“This is something special to win a title [here], this is my home and I have always watched the tournament when I was little,” Nishikori added. “I know that it’s tough this year, not easy to go far, but I will try to go as far as I can.”

The 12-time ATP Tour titlist has been hampered by injuries in recent years but has been making a steady return to full health, displaying some impressive tennis. Nishikori reached the quarter-finals at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time since 2019 with his run in Montreal in August.

He then made back-to-back quarter-finals of ATP Challenger events in Como and Genoa before being beaten by Shang Juncheng in the first round of the Chengdu Open, in which the Chinese rising star went on to lift the trophy. 

There is no place like home, and Nishikori recognises the importance of soaking these moments in.

“This is the only time I get a lot of fans, even to practice [sessions], and I don’t usually get this feeling, so I will try to enjoy,” Nishikori said. “It’s great to see many fans show up to this tournament, I always feel a lot of support.”

Nishikori gets his Tokyo campaign underway against Marin Cilic in a repeat of the 2014 US Open final, which the Croatian won in straight sets.

The Japanese leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 9-6 but Cilic will fancy his chances. The former World No.3 in the PIF ATP Rankings comes into the tournament on a five-match winning streak after clinching his first ATP Tour title since 2021 at the Hangzhou Open on Tuesday.

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