MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Kei Nishikori played on Australian Open for the first time in four years and twice faced match points that could have ended his tournament in straight sets.
He really wanted to stay. The 2014 US Open runner-up fended off both match points and held in the 10th game of the third set, rallying for a 4-6, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 victory over the Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro in just over four hours.
For the 35-year-old Nishikori, who has missed the last three Australian tournaments due to a series of hip, ankle and knee injuries, it was a fifth comeback victory from two sets in a Grand Slam.
He improved to 29-8 in five-setters, including 8-1 at the Australian Open, and said he was feeling positive about his next round. He warmed up for the first major of the year – just his third since 2021 – with a run to the final in Hong Kong.
“I feel so good,” he said, “why not?”
