Kei Nishikori’s start to the 2025 season is quality. The 35-year-old Japanese, back in the top 80 after playing in the final of the Hong Kong tournament at the beginning of January (where he lost against Alexandre Muller), faced Thiago Monteiro in the first round of the Australian Open.
The Brazilian, from qualifying, did the job at the start of the match, winning the first two sets.
Only one game from victory, Monteiro got two match points on Nishikori’s serve at 5-4, but the latter, still combative, didn’t give up and reversed the trend to win the third set .
At the end of a fight lasting more than 4 hours, it was finally Nishikori, building on his momentum from the start of the year, who won (4-6, 6-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6- 3).
Almost six years after their only confrontation at Wimbledon in 2019 (Nishikori won in three sets), the Japanese once again dominates his opponent. He will meet Tommy Paul or Christopher O’Connell in the second round.
“It was a very tough match. I almost forgot that he had two match points. But I tried to stay calm, even though I was almost eliminated from the tournament.
I tried to focus on what I could do. I tried to fight, and I played better from the fourth set.
To be honest, I almost gave up. He almost deserved to win today. But I held on,” reacted the 2014 US Open finalist on court after his marathon match.
