We haven’t seen Kei Nishikori on a court since the end of July 2023. In Atlanta, the former world No. 4 (in 2015) lost in the quarter-finals against Taylor Fritz. But he had especially badly damaged his left knee. To the point of having to skip the rest of the season and having to postpone his return several times. He made his comeback on Thursday at the ATP 1000 in Miami, a tournament for which he received a wild card. Today 351st in the world, he clearly lost, in 1h18, against Sebastian Ofner (40th), 6-3, 6-4.
The Austrian, however, remained on three defeats in a row, in Acapulco, Indian Wells and Phoenix. But it quickly became clear that the Japanese lacked rhythm and tone, his traditional strong point. Logical gaps after such a long absence. From the first game, he gave up his serve. And never took it back, despite three break points. Rebelote in the second set, where he never posed the slightest threat to the service of Ofner, who slammed a total of 31 winning shots. The road may be long for the former US Open finalist… It was almost ten years ago.
2024-03-21 19:57:36
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