Atlanta Open: Nishikori into last 16, winning first match in almost two years

Japanese Kei Nishikori defeated Australian Jordan Thompson 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) to reach the last 16 of the Atlanta Open on Tuesday evening.

It was his first match since October 2021 and his return follows hip surgery last year.

“Not [an] easy first round against Jordan. He’s very steady from the baseline. He doesn’t miss much and I have to be aggressive all the time,” Nishikori said in his on-court interview. “But I’m quite happy the way I played today. There were some moments that I should have stepped up a little more. But with these tough conditions, I’m happy to win in two sets.”

Nishikori returned to the Challenger tour last month, winning a title in Puerto Rico, and is hopeful he can continue his good form now.

“I played good, actually. I played a couple of Challengers before here and I didn’t play [for] almost two years,” Nishikori added. “It was a pretty good level, I think. And yeah, I just keep playing my best and hope I can stay later this week.”

Nishikori, ranked No 439, will face the winner of the match between Chinese qualifier Juncheng Shang and American Ben Shelton, the No 6 seed, next.

Kei is back 🔥

In his first tour match since October 2021, @keinishikori knocks out Thompson 7-6(5) 7-6(5).@ATLOpenTennis | #AtlantaOpen pic.twitter.com/haXkWlq7uD

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 25, 2023