Kei Nishikori confirms Australian Open absence despite "seeing light at the end of the tunnel"
Former top-10 player Kei Nishikori is set to miss the Australian Open as he outlined his plans for a return to the Tour.
Nishikori, 33, hasn't been in action since playing his lone tournament on the ATP Tour in 2023 at the Atlanta Open, where he reached the quarterfinal, losing to Taylor Fritz in straight sets.
The former US Open finalist played a few tournaments on the Challenger Tour, winning the title at Palmas del Mar (Puerto Rico) and reaching the quarterfinal at Chicago.
However, since making the last eight in Atlanta, Nishikori sustained a knee injury that ruled him out of action for the year. In an interview with Sports Hochi (via Tennis Actu), the 33-year-old ruled himself out of the year's first Grand Slam as he eyes a return by February or March:
"I think I won't be ready in time for the Australian Open. Now my goal is to play Challengers in the USA and then play Indian Wells or Miami. I want to be back in February or March. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel."
Nishikori is ranked 350th in the world and will need wildcards to compete at most of the top tournaments.
What did Kei Nishikori say after reaching the Atlanta quarterfinal?
Playing his first ATP Tour event in more than a year, Kei Nishikori made short work of Jordan Thompson in the opening round, winning in straight sets. The Japanese had a similar result in the next round against Juncheng Shan to reach the last eight.
Following his 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over the Chinese man, an elated Nishikori said that he was happy to come out on top after a 'tough' battle under the lights. He said in his on-court interview (as per ATP):
"It was a tough battle, but I was very excited on the court. I felt pretty good, especially playing under (the lights). I felt very good on the court today."
About his return to the Tour after missing the entire 2022 season, Nishikori admitted that it's not easy returning to action after a long hiatus, elaborating in the aforementioned interview:
"It's always tough coming back from injury, I was out for almost two years. I just came back, played the last couple tournaments and coming into here, I'm feeling pretty good. Luckily, I won two rounds here and happy to play another one tomorrow."
A fairytale triumph wasn't to be, though, as Kei Nishikori fell in straight sets to Fritz, ending his perfect 3-0 record against the American.