Miami: Former world number four Kei Nishikori’s return to the ATP Tour after a long injury layoff ended with a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Sebastian Ofner in the first round.
The Japanese Nishikori has hardly played on the tour in the last two years, his last appearance on the ATP Tour was in July in Atlanta.
Given the hosts’ wild card, the 2016 finalist from Miami was surprisingly not a little off the pace against 40th-ranked Austrian Ofner, who was looking to replicate his training form.
“I thought I was training well, playing a lot better. I felt the rhythm and felt the ball quite well in training, but during the match it’s completely different,” he told reporters.
“It was windy, he was hitting the ball very hard, very fast, the courts are fast. I had trouble making a lot of balls on the court and just the little things that I didn’t do, maybe I thought.” to hit a corner, but sometimes the ball goes into the middle,” he added.
Also read: Babar, Kohli as big as LeBron James in terms of popularity, Plunkett
At the age of 34, Nishikori faces a real challenge to work his way back up the rankings, but he believes he can get back to the elite level in time.
“I don’t have a clear goal right now, you know I want to play a lot of games. I need some time to get used to (the games) and hopefully stay healthy, I think that’s the only goal this year. I’m trying to play as many games as possible,” he said.
Gael Monfils, the 37-year-old Frenchman, turned on the style in a 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 win over Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic.
“It was a great match, he played well and I still play for these moments, these challenges. I feel like that fire is still there,” he said.
Britain’s Dan Evans battled to a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Italy’s Lorenzo Sonega.
