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Kei Nishikori was out of the top 200 rankings positions when he started competing again on the ATP Challenger Tour in January. The Japanese player was coming from a long wrist injury and he was unsure whether if he could compete at the highest level again.

And instead, he proved to be a champion, losing Monte Carlo final to Rafael Nadal and US Open semifinals to Novak Djokovic. 'I had the most difficulty with my feelings. For the first couple of months after comeback, I didn't have sharp feelings as before.

Honestly, the thought that my tennis career is over crossed my mind. I've got my feelings back slowly. My tennis was terrible until Monte Carlo Masters, it's only recently that I've started to play with confidence.

I'm not searching for perfection in my play this year', said Nishikori. Commenting on his win over the Frenchman Benoit Paire in Tokyo, the 28-year-old added: 'There were many ups and downs in the second set.

There were some difficult moments, but I thought I handled it well, especially in the difficult moments I focused well and played well. That's why I was able to win in two sets.' Nishikori also spoke about his chances to qualify for London ATP Finals: 'I think I focus more on each match because I'm still far away and I've got to win a big thing to go to the [Nitto] ATP Finals, so I've got to play one match at a time.

Hopefully, I can go to the Finals, but there are still four tournaments, and I'm taking it just one tournament at a time and we'll see.' After the Rakuten Open, Nishikori is committed to play in Shanghai, Vienna and Paris Masters before eventually the London ATP Finals in mid-November

ATP World Tour stars take time out from preparations to visit world-famous opera house
Kevin Anderson and Kei Nishikori, Lucas Pouille and Philipp Kohlschreiber, who are competing at the Erste Bank Open 500, visited the Vienna State Opera on Monday.
Austria’s opera house, which employs more than 1,000 people, produces 50 to 60 operas per year and 10 ballet productions, including more than 350 performances.
Home hope Dominic Thiem, who is currently eighth in the ATP Race To London for a spot at the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 11-18 November, leads the ATP World Tour 500 field in Vienna. Seventh-placed Anderson and 10th-positioned Nishikori are also in contention for the three remaining London singles berths.

Isner saves two match points against Norrie

Kei Nishikori continued his bid for a place at the Nitto ATP Finals by winning his opening match at the Erste Bank Open 500 on Tuesday. The fifth-seeded Japanese star knocked out American Frances Tiafoe, a qualifier for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan next month, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-2 in two hours and eight minutes for a place in the second round.

Nishikori led by a set and 5-3 before #NextGenATP Tiafoe staged a comeback of five straight games to a 1-0 lead in the decider, but the 20-year-old’s serve was broken by Nishikori in the third and eighth games. Nishikori will next play Russia’s Karen Khachanov, winner of last week’s VTB Kremlin Cup crown, or Austrian wild card Dennis Novak.

Nishikori, who has competed at the London season finale on three previous occasions (2014-16), is currently in 10th position in the ATP Race To London with just three of the eight spots left up for grabs at The O2 from 11-18 November. The runner-up at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (l. to Nadal) and at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2018 (l. to Medvedev) is now 37-17 (21-10 on hard) this year.

If John Isner goes onto compete at the Nitto ATP Finals next month, he may well look back on Tuesday’s victory against Cameron Norrie as a pivotal moment. Isner, who is currently ninth in the ATP Race To London for a spot at the eight-man season finale, stared down the barrel against the British lucky loser, but fought off two match points to triumph 6-7(1), 6-4, 7-6(7) in two hours and 19 minutes for a place in the second round.

The 6’10” American, enjoying the best year of his 12-season pro career, saved match points at 5/6 and 6/7 in the third set tie-break. In the first set, Norrie had saved one set point at 4-5, 30/40 and looked on course to beat Isner for the second time (also Lyon in May). Isner now plays France's Gael Monfils or compatriot Steve Johnson.

Elsewhere, Spain’s Fernando Verdasco worked his way past French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 15 minutes. Verdasco could not convert one set point at 6/5 in the first set tie-break, but bounced back for his 30th match win of the season (30-26 overall). He now awaits the winner of eighth-seeded Briton Kyle Edmund, last week's winner at the European Open in Antwerp (d. Monfils), or Diego Schwartzman of Argentina.

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28-year-old is in 10th position in the ATP Race To London
Ten months ago, Kei Nishikori couldn't have imagined he'd be where he is today. The Japanese right-hander started his year in late January in Newport Beach at an ATP Challenger Tour event. And he lost, to No. 238 Dennis Novikov of the U.S., 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

But now, Nishikori, who beat #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe on Tuesday to start his Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna, could end his season among the top eight players in the world at the Nitto ATP Finals.

“It wasn't easy to imagine but now, the last couple of months especially, I've been playing really well and have a lot of confidence. I'm happy to be back at this level,” Nishikori told ATPWorldTour.com.

The 28-year-old is currently in 10th position in the ATP Race To London, with just three spots remaining at the season-ending tournament, to be held 11-18 November at The O2 in London.

Nishikori has 3,000 Race points, 65 behind ninth-placed John Isner (3,065), who, at age 33, is trying to make his London debut. Isner also advanced on Tuesday in Vienna, saving two match points to beat Brit Cameron Norrie.

You May Also Like: Read & Watch: London Contenders Nishikori, Isner Advance In Vienna
For Nishikori, it has been a relatively quick climb back to the top of the ATP World Tour. He underwent surgery on his right wrist last August and missed the final three months of the season.

In the off-season, he tweaked his service motion so it relied less on his wrist. “I had to try to not use it too much... We discussed it with my coaches, and we changed some things. It's a better movement, a better swing and I think it's going well,” he said.

But after his opening loss in Newport Beach, Nishikori won five consecutive matches to take the title at The RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas, also an ATP Challenger Tour event. Two weeks later, he was back in the hunt for ATP World Tour titles, making the semi-finals at the New York Open (l. to eventual titlist Anderson).

By late April, Nishikori was competing for some of the biggest titles in the game. He fell to Rafael Nadal in the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters final.

Watch Highlights: Nishikori Beats Tiafoe In Vienna


Nishikori has played some of his best tennis in the biggest tournaments this year. He made the Rome quarter-finals, his first Wimbledon quarter-final and the semi-finals at the US Open.

“I think I was going slowly at first. I was really struggling to play, and I didn't feel the rhythm... I didn't have any confidence so it took a little while to come back to 100 per cent... Now I think I'm back,” Nishikori said.

This week is his first at the ATP World Tour 500-level event in Vienna. But so far, on and off the court, Nishikori has enjoyed his time in the Austrian city. On Monday, he, along with Kevin Anderson, Lucas Pouille and Philipp Kohlschreiber, visited the Vienna State Opera.

“It was beautiful, one of the best experiences I've had in my life. I've never seen an opera house before,” Nishikori said.

His mother is a piano teacher, but Nishikori confirmed, the family's musical talents have not yet extended to singing, although a member of Nishikori's coaching staff is apparently an excellent singer.

“We don't sing too much. I think coach Michael [Chang] is very good at singing. I've heard before. He's very good,” Nishikori joked. “I always wanted to come here to visit, and it's fun to play different tournaments. I've heard Vienna is a great city. I've seen many great buildings and many beautiful things here in the city. I've been liking it.”

Monfils damages Isner's London hopes

Dominic Thiem continued his quest on Thursday to become the third Austrian in the 45-year history of the Erste Bank Open 500 to lift the trophy by beating big-serving American Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-4 for a place in the quarter-finals. It was his 50th match win of the 2018 season (50-16).

"It was a good match. I think I was returning quite well," Thiem said. "I still felt quite a lot of pressure on my own service games because he was serving really well and he has such a dangerous game. So I knew that if I got broken back once, that the match would be completely open again. So I'm very happy that I made it in two sets."

Top seed Thiem lost just four of his first-service points (26/30) in the 78-minute encounter, saving three break points at 3-2 in the second set. The 25-year-old contender for a third straight qualification at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 11-18 November, is hoping this week to follow in the footsteps of homegrown Vienna champions, Horst Skoff, who won the 1998 title, and 2009 and 2010 winner Jurgen Melzer, who retired from singles competition this week.

"Especially for us tennis players, we don't have many chances to play at home," Thiem said. "It's a very unique and nice feeling that are the people are behind me, so I enjoyed every second of it."

Nishikori

Thiem will next play fellow London contender Kei Nishikori, who earned two service breaks in each set to beat Russia’s Karen Khachanov, last week’s VTB Kremlin Cup titlist, 6-2, 6-2 in 64 minutes. The fifth-seeded Japanese star, who has a 38-17 match record in 2018, must reach the Vienna semi-finals in order to replace American John Isner in ninth place in the ATP Race To London. Nishikori qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for three consecutive years in 2014-16.

"It's going to be very important. Still, I think for both of us, when we are on court the only thing we want is to win," Thiem said. "Kei and me, we've had some very nice matches in the past and I'm sure it's going to be a fun one tomorrow."

One London contender who was dealt a blow on Thursday was Isner. Frenchman Gael Monfils beat the ninth-placed player in the Race 6-4, 6-4 in 69 minutes. Isner is trying to qualify for the season finale for the first time.

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Monfils has maintained the momentum he gained by reaching the final of the European Open last week in Antwerp. The 33-year-old is trying to lift multiple titles in a season for the first time. In the last eight, he will face Fernando Verdasco, whom he leads 3-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. Verdasco has won their past two matches, including one at the recent China Open, where he triumphed in a third-set tie-break.

Spain’s Verdasco reached the Vienna quarter-finals for the first time since 2008 by beating eighth-seeded Briton Kyle Edmund 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in one hour and 56 minutes. Edmund lifted his first ATP World Tour title last week in Antwerp, where he beat Monfils for the championship.

Nitto ATP Finals contender Anderson also advances to semi-finals

Kei Nishikori stepped up his bid to qualify for a Nitto ATP Finals spot on Friday by dashing the hopes of fellow London contender Dominic Thiem, who had been attempting to become the third Austrian in the 45-year history of the Erste Bank Open 500 to lift the trophy.

Fifth seed Nishikori completed one of his best performance of the year, blasting past top seed Thiem 6-3, 6-1 in 69 minutes for a place in the Vienna semi-finals. Nishikori committed 10 unforced errors for his 39th match win of the season (39-17) and a meeting with Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin.

The Japanese star moves past 10th-placed American John Isner and into ninth position in the ATP Race To London, one behind Thiem. Nishikori qualified for the season finale in 2014-16 and will now be hoping to secure one of the three remaining singles berths at The O2 in London from 11-18 November.


"I'm just happy to play good tennis," said Nishikori. "Hopefully I can make London, but there is still one more tournament next week in Paris, so I just play 100 per cent here in Vienna and hope I can carry on the momentum to Paris."

Kevin Anderson also moved up one spot in the ATP Race To London, overtaking Marin Cilic in the sixth position on Friday with his quarter-final victory over recent Shanghai finalist Borna Coric. The second-seeded Anderson led 7-6(2), 1-2 when No. 6 seed Coric retired from their match with a left foot injury.

After saving one match point in a tough first-round match against China Open champion Nikoloz Basilashvili on Monday, Anderson benefitted from a walkover in the second round against Austrian Jurgen Melzer.

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"It’s definitely an interesting route to get through to the semis here," he said. "Obviously it’s good to get through to the quarters, but then I’m playing my first match on Monday and not playing again until Friday, up against a very tough opponent, a very in-form player. It took me some time to find my feet…The good thing is that I feel fresh. I’ve played a lot of tennis this year and I know that if I can stick to what I’ve been doing, I’m going to be good, even if I haven’t played as much."

Anderson, 32, is looking to become the fourth-oldest first-time singles qualifier at the Nitto ATP Finals, and he would clinch his spot by winning the Vienna title. He will take a 3-5 FedEx ATP Head2Head record into his semi-final match against Spain's Fernando Verdasco, in their first meeting since the 2017 Rolex Paris Masters. Verdasco also advanced by retirement, after establishing a 6-4, 2-1 lead against 2008 runner-up Gael Monfils.

Earlier in the day, Kukushkin became the first qualifier to reach the Vienna semi-finals since Viktor Troicki of Serbia in 2014. Kukushkin admitted on court, “I still can’t believe that I made it,” after a 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4) over Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in three hours and 19 minutes. “That was a crazy match, so emotional. It’s my first time in Vienna. I’m so happy.” Kukushkin also reached the grass-court Nature Valley International semi-finals (l. to M. Zverev) in June.

Salisbury/Skupski Reach Doubles Final
British duo Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski scraped past second seeds and Nitto ATP Finals qualifier Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 in 76 minutes for a place in their first ATP World Tour team final. Meanwhile, top seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic reached the semi-finals with a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Maximo Gonzalez and Diego Schwartzman. They will face Mike Bryan and Edouard Roger-Vasselin for a place in the title match.

Japanese star to face Anderson in Sunday's final

Kei Nishikori remained on course to lift his first trophy in more than two years on Saturday, beating Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Erste Bank Open 500 final.

The Japanese star, who remains in the hunt for a Nitto ATP Finals qualification spot, won 74 per cent of first-serve points to maintain his unbeaten FedEx ATP Head2Head record (8-0) against the Kazakh qualifier. If Nishikori lifts his first trophy since 2016 Memphis on Sunday, he will move to within 125 points of the eighth and final qualification place in the ATP Race To London.

"I need to keep trying in every final [to end my title drought]," said Nishikori. "It is my first time in a final in Vienna so I will just try to enjoy the match and hope I can get through."


With 40 tour-level victories this season, Nishikori will now attempt to end an eight-match losing streak in championship matches. The 28-year-old will appear in his third final of 2018, following runner-up finishes at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (l. to Nadal) and the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2018 (l. to Medvedev).

Nishikori will meet Wimbledon runner-up Kevin Anderson for the trophy on Sunday. Nishikori owns a 4-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head against the South African, who defeated Fernando Verdasco in 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

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Competing in his first ATP World Tour 500-level semi-final, Kukushkin was bidding to reach his fourth tour-level championship match (1-2). The 2010 St. Petersburg Open champion also reached the last four at the Nature Valley International in June.

Nishikori regularly applied pressure to his opponent with consistent depth in return games. After failing to covert two break-point opportunities in the sixth game, the Japanese No. 1 earned his first service break at 5-4, with an aggressive forehand winner deciding the set.


Keen to strengthen his advantage, Nishikori broke to love early in the second set with increased aggression behind his return. The Tokyo finalist maintained his lead with strong serving and soon arrived at match point, after 89 minutes, extending his set-winning streak against Kukushkin to 14 with a pinpoint backhand winner up the line.

"[Kukushkin] was quite tough because he played really good defence," said Nishikori. "It wasn't easy to finish the points against Mikhail today."

Did You Know?
Nishikori has now won 40 or more tour-level matches in four of the past five ATP World Tour seasons.