Nishikori: 'I never lost motivation'

Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour

Kei Nishikori made a welcome return to the ATP Tour on Thursday, declaring his love for competition despite years of disappointment and injury setbacks.

A wild card at the Miami Open presented by Itau, the Japanese star was playing his first match since Atlanta last July. Although Nishikori did not achieve the result he hoped for — falling to Sebastian Ofner 6-3, 6-4 — the flame inside the former No. 4 has not been diminished.

“I never lose that motivation. It's always there. Some reason I cannot explain, but some reason motivation is always there,” Nishikori said in his post-match press conference. “I'm looking forward to getting my tennis back. Maybe it's not going to be soon, but I will keep fighting.”

It's great to see @keinishikori back! ❤️@MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/yoQeEnSjPS

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 21, 2024

The 34-year-old has endured several injuries the past few seasons, having played just two ATP Tour events and three ATP Challenger Tour tournaments since the start of 2022, the year he underwent arthroscopic left hip surgery. But the 2014 US Open finalist is staying positive and looking forward to continuing his comeback.

“I just want to play a lot of matches. Today, I was almost enjoying the match, but it wasn't good enough to beat those Top 50 players,” Nishikori said. “I think I'm happy enough with how I played today. Maybe not the best, but I'm looking forward to playing a couple of more tournaments.”

A 12-time tour-level titlist, Nishikori made an initial comeback last June, when he won the ATP Challenger Tour event in Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico to become the first unranked champion at that level. It was his first tournament in 20 months.

After another pair of Challenger tournaments and a quarter-final run at the ATP 250 in Atlanta, Nishikori was struck with more injuries. Still, the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist is determined to go step-by-step.

“Hopefully I can stay healthy. I think that's the only goal this year, try to play as many matches as I can,” Nishikori said. “Physically, that’s the toughest thing. I almost came back last summer. I played six, seven matches and then my body got hurt again.”

Nishikori showed flashes of vintage form Thursday, at times redirecting the ball with ease as he hit 14 winners. At No. 351 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Nishikori next looks to build upon his first showing of 2024.

“I'm hoping to play Houston, Barcelona, Madrid, the clay-court season. I like clay, I have a good record playing on clay,” said Nishikori, who boasts a 433-213 career match record. “So I hope I can play good couple matches there. I know it's going to be a tough field, but if I keep losing in the first round, maybe I will play some Challengers.”