
Kei Nishikori earned the fifth two-set comeback of his career Sunday at the Australian Open, where he rallied past Thiago Monteiro 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.
Once the former No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings battled from two sets down, it was no surprise that he finished the job. The Japanese star has long been one of the best deciding-set players in tennis.
But does Nishikori own the best five-set record in the Open Era? Close, but not quite.
Best Five-Set Records (Full Career In Open Era)
Player | Record | Winning % |
1) Bjorn Borg | 27-6 | 81.8% |
2) Johan Kriek | 18-4 | 81.8% |
3) Novak Djokovic | 40-11 | 78.4% |
4) Kei Nishikori | 29-8 | 78.4% |
5) Adrian Mannarino | 14-4 | 77.8% |
6) Tommy Robredo | 17-5 | 77.3% |
7) Aaron Krickstein | 28-9 | 75.7% |
8) Harold Solomon | 18-6 | 75% |
9) Thierry Champion | 11-4 | 73.3% |
10) Nick Kyrgios | 11-4 | 73.3% |
Among active players, 99-time tour-level titlist Novak Djokovic leads the way with a 78.4 winning percentage (40-11). Nishikori is slightly behind with his 78.4 winning percentage and a 29-8 record.
"It's good to have that record because I always have good confidence, and players know that I have good records," Nishikori said. "It's good pressure for them if I have that. But maybe, like, six, seven years ago I started realising that."
Nishikori has won eight of his nine five-setters at the Australian Open. He will next take on 12th seed Tommy Paul or Christopher O'Connell.
Carlos Alcaraz owns an astonishing 12-1 five-set record. However, he did not meet the 15-match minimum to qualify for the leaderboard. However, even if the Spaniard loses his next two five-setters, he will be near the top of the list with an 80 per cent winning rate.