Kei Nishikori says his motivation for tennis has not lessened despite being sidelined by various injury issues over the past two years.
The former US Open finalist returned to action on Thursday at the Miami Open in what was his first tour-level match since July. Taking on world No.40 Sebastian Oftner, Nishikori lost 6-3, 6-4, but showed promising signs in his return as he hit 12 winners against just five unforced errors.
Miami was the first Tournament Nishikori had played above the Challenger level since the Atlanta Open last year. He underwent left hip surgery back in 2022 and since then has been hampered by other injury setbacks. Over the past two years, he has only been able to play in five events.
Despite his off-court struggles, Nishikori isn’t giving up on his career yet as he targets a return back to the top in the coming months.
“I never lost that motivation. It’s always there. I cannot explain why but for some reason the motivation is always there,” he told reporters.
“I don’t have a clear goal right now. I just want to play a lot of matches.’
“I was almost enjoying the match (against Oftner) but it wasn’t good enough to beat those 50 players. I think I’m happy enough with how I played. Maybe not the best, but I still have a good desire.”
The former world No.4 is confident that he will be able to regain his form but admits it will take a while for him to do so. Last month he added Thomas Johansson to his team. A former player who has worked with the likes of Sorana Cirstea, Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sakkari and David Goffin.
“During practice, I was playing pretty good tennis and I was happy with how I was playing this week, practising with (Casper) Ruud,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to getting my tennis back. Maybe it’s not going to be soon, but I will keep fighting.”
Now he is back on the Tour, Nishikori is hoping to once again play at the big tournaments. However, the 34-year-old is currently ranked 351st in the world. His route into these events can be achieved by either using his protected ranking, receiving more wild cards or going through the qualifying rounds.
“Usually I play challengers when I try to come back but I’m hoping to play Houston, Barcelona and Madrid because I like clay. I have a good record playing clay.” He commented.
“I know it’s going to be a tough field, but if I keep losing in the first round, maybe I will put some challengers in, but for now, no.”
Nishikori has won 12 ATP titles and earned more than $25M in prize money so far in his career.
