Nishikori rolls back the years to stun Rublev in Tokyo
If there is a right time to post your first win over a Top-10 opponent in over two and a half years, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better moment than the opening match of the Olympic Games in your home country.
That’s the itch Kei Nishikori scratched as he produced a vintage display to oust ROC No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev with a 6-3 6-4 victory - his first over a single-digit-ranked rival since November 2018.
“It’s been a while [since] I’ve been playing like this,” said Nishikori, who five years ago won Japan’s third Olympic tennis medal, a bronze at Rio 2016.
“I was struggling playing Top-10 players the last couple of months, or maybe all this year. This is the first time I’m playing a very solid match, so I’m happy of course beating Rublev, but also happy with my tennis today.”
Taking to Court 1 as the sun began to set over Ariake Tennis Park, Nishikori revelled in the cooler conditions, hitting just 10 unforced errors against the firepower of Rublev, who paid a heavy price for his missed opportunities after slipping behind in both sets.
Nishikori struck first to break for 3-1 in the opener and did well to survive two break-back points in the next game. Rublev did get back on track at 3-4 only to immediately give up his serve in the next game and leave the Japanese No. 1 to serve out the set.
From there, Nishikori was virtually flawless on serve, dropping just one point before breaking for the chance to make it 5-3 and serving out to love two games later.
Did Nishikori believe he was still capable of this type of performance? Absolutely - but asked how he had rediscovered some of his finest form, he admitted: “It suddenly came.
“Honestly, my practice this week wasn’t perfect, so I was a little bit worried how I was going to play today. But maybe the conditions helped – these slightly cooler conditions, where the balls weren’t flying too much like in the daytime. And the fight I was doing the last couple of months really helped with my tennis.”
One can only wonder what type of atmosphere would have greeted both Nishikori and Naomi Osaka, a winner on her Olympic debut earlier in the day, as they took to court and posted such impressive straight-sets victories. For Nishikori, it was a poignant moment.
“It’s good to be playing at home, especially this site,” he said. “I’ve been playing here a lot – sometimes it feels like home, though with no spectators it’s tough. But I have to enjoy playing here – I know many people are watching on TV, so I just have to focus on what I have to do on the court.”
Up next for Nishikori is USA’s Marcos Giron, who defeated Norbert Gombos of Slovakia 7-6(4) 3-6 6-2.