Kei Nishikori Makes Successful Return To ATP Action In Atlanta | ATP Tour | Tennis

Kei Nishikori made a profitable comeback to ATP Tour motion on Tuesday with a decent straight-sets win on the Atlanta Open.

The previous World No. 4 gained his first tour-level match since October 2021 when he defeated Australian Jordan Thompson 7-6(5), 7-6(5) to succeed in the second spherical. He’ll subsequent play sixth seed Ben Shelton or qualifier Shang Juncheng.

“Not [an] straightforward first spherical towards Jordan. He is very regular from the baseline. He would not miss a lot and I’ve to be aggressive on a regular basis,” Nishikori stated in his on-court interview. “However I am fairly pleased the best way I performed immediately. There have been some moments that I ought to have stepped up somewhat extra. However with these powerful situation I am pleased to win in two units.”

The 33-year-old returned on the ATP Challenger Tour final month and instantly gained a title in Puerto Rico. Within the first tour-level match of his comeback, Nishikori moved nicely in sweltering Atlanta situations and saved all 4 break factors he confronted to claw by a gruelling baseline duel after two hours and 25 minutes.

“I performed good, really. I performed a few Challengers earlier than right here and I did not play [for] virtually two years,” Nishikori stated. “It was a reasonably good stage, I feel. And yeah, I simply preserve taking part in my greatest and hope I can keep later this week.”