Hong Kong
Nishikori foils Khachanov in Hong Kong to seal Top 100 return
Norrie, Fils also advance at ATP 250
January 01, 2025
HKCTA
Kei Nishikori overcomes Karen Khachanov on Wednesday at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open.
By Alex Sharp
Kei Nishikori’s pursuit of returning to the elite of men’s tennis gained serious momentum on New Year’s Day at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open.
The former No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings has endured injury struggles in recent seasons, but he on Wednesday registered a statement 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory against third seed Karen Khachanov at Victoria Park.
In doing so, the Japanese icon returned to the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Live Rankings for the first time since June 2022. After all he has been through, that achievement meant a lot to the 35-year-old.
“Yeah it does feel extra special,” said Nishikori. “I just need to keep going. This will give me a lot of confidence for sure. It’s definitely my biggest win in a long time, over a year. “I didn’t have a good start, I was shaky, missing a lot. I wasn’t sure how I could come back. I was a little bit lucky as he was up a break in the first two sets. Starting from the second set I felt better, and everything worked well in the end.”
Nishikori will take on Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals. The World No. 49 managed to turn the tables in a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 rain-disrupted win against Lorenzo Sonego.
-“It’s not easy at all, I had to warm up five or six times with the rain delays making it slightly slippery,” said Norrie, through to his 25th ATP Tour quarter-final. “I managed to play a really, really good match. Credit to Sonego, in that second set 5-4 game, he just came out firing, I didn’t do much wrong the whole match. I’m very pleased with my level.”
Fourth seed Arthur Fils made his 2025 singles debut with an entertaining 7-6(7), 6-4 victory over wild card Belgian Zizou Bergs. The World No. 20 managed to chalk off a Bergs set point in a high-octane first-set tie-break, seizing the initiative with relentless depth on return and groundstrokes booming into the corners.
It was a stern opening test for Fils, who won 82 per cent (32/39) of points behind first serves, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The 20-year-old earned a pivotal late break with a shoulder-high cross-court forehand to prompt a roar of “Come on” towards his team.
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“Zizou is a great player, of course, near his best ranking, playing some great tennis. He’s moving so well. I tried my best to keep the match under control, but lost two easy games on my serve. I was really happy how I dealt with that mentally. I will be very focused for my quarters,” said Fils.
“In the pre-season we’ve been trying to improve everything, coming to the net more, to improve the serve, the movement, I think it’s working well. Just need to keep going like this, I hope to play better and better this week.”
Fils advances for an all-French duel with marathon man Alexandre Muller, who last year prevailed 7-5, 6-3 in Rome. That is the pair’s only previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.
Earlier on Wednesday, Muller battled back from the brink twice, needing three-and-a-half hours to eventually put away Miomir Kecmanovic 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(10).
Story republished with the permission of hkmenstennisopen.com
