Kei Nishikori revealed his motivation to carry on competing stems from wanting to verse rising stars like Carlos Alcaraz, who he likened to Rafael Nadal but with ‘more speed’.
20-year-old Alcaraz has made waves in the tennis world over the past couple of years and recently bagged his second Grand Slam title after defeating Novak Djokovic in the final of Wimbledon.
Nishikori, who recently made his comeback to the tour after being sidelined for 21 months due to injury, revealed it’s players like Alcaraz that have fuelled his motivation to continue competing.
‘’One thing I hope to get the chance to do is to play against these great young players like Alcaraz, [Holger] Rune and [Jannik] Sinner at some point,’’ Nishikori told the ATP.
‘’That’s part of my motivation to try to play for a few more years.
“I don’t think we have seen anyone like Alcaraz before. He looks like Rafa but he has more speed.
“Good defence, unbelievable forehand and he has a good backhand too.’’
Former world No. 4 and 2014 US Open finalist Nishikori underwent hip surgery in 2022 and then suffered a badly sprained ankle which set him back once more and he previously admitted that he had pondered retirement.
However, the 33-year-old bagged his first tour-level win since Indian Wells in October 2021 against Jordan Thompson in the first round of the Atlanta Open on Tuesday and said he was ‘excited’ to be back playing amongst the ‘top guys’ once again.
“I’m just so happy to be back here playing,” Nishikori said.
“I have zero pressure and can play free. I’m just having fun on the court. And I’m excited to be playing against the top guys again.
“I have had a good team around me and I’m very thankful that [coaches] Max [Mirnyi,] and Michael [Chang] kept encouraging me. They still believe in me and I believe it too.’’
Nishikori will next face qualifier Shang Juncheng on Thursday.
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