Kei Nishikori has insisted he remains as motivated as ever, even as his return to the ATP Tour after a lengthy injury absence ended in a 6-3, 6-4 first-round loss to Sebastian Ofner at the Miami Open on March 21.
Due to his injuries, which included major hip surgery, the Japanese former world No. 4 has barely played in the past two years with his last appearance coming at Atlanta last July.
Given a wild card by organisers, the 2016 Miami finalist was expectedly a little off the pace against 40th-ranked Austrian Ofner as he struggled to replicate his practice form.
"I thought I was practising well, playing much better. I was feeling the rhythm and I was feeling the ball pretty good in practice, but during the match it's completely different," Nishikori said.
"It was windy. He was hitting the ball very hard, very quick, the courts are quick. I was having a tough time making a lot of balls in the court and just the little things that I was not making... maybe I was supposed to hit the corner, but the ball goes to the middle sometimes.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 23, 2024-Ausgabe von The Straits Times.
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