Playing for the first time since advancing to the Atlanta quarterfinals last summer, Kei Nishikori lost to Sebastian Ofner 6-3, 6-4 in the Miami Open first round on Thursday afternoon. Nishikori was competitive from start to finish, but he was broken once in each set and failed to convert any of his three break chances.
Afterward, the 34-year-old was mostly upbeat.
“I just want to play a lot of matches,” said Nishikori. “Today I was almost enjoying the match, but it wasn’t good enough to beat those top-50 players. I think I’m happy enough with how I played today; maybe not the best.”
The former world No. 4 has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, most recently dealing with hip and knee issues. Atlanta was his only ATP-level tournament in 2023, when he also took the court for a trio of Challenger events–one of which he won. Nishikori wasn’t able to play any more than that, but he hopes to sustain a heavier workload this season.
“Hopefully I can stay healthy,” the 2014 U.S. Open runner-up commented. “I think that’s the only goal this year: try to play as many matches as I can. Physically, that’s the toughest thing. I almost came back last summer. I played six, seven matches and then my body got hurt again.
“I’m hoping to play Houston, Barcelona, Madrid–the clay-court season. I like clay; I have a good record playing on clay. So I hope I can play good couple matches there. I know it’s going to be a tough field. If I keep losing in the first round, maybe I will play some Challengers.”
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