Kei Nishikori is keen to get on the court with Carlos Alcaraz (Image: Getty)
Kei Nishikori enjoyed one of his best weeks in years as he reached the championship match at the recent Hong Kong Tennis Open.
It was his first final in six years, and he returned to the world’s top 100 as a result.
Following his strong run, Nishikori’s coach has now called out and , and warned that the former No. 4 can still be as dangerous as ever.
Nishikori spent years at the top of men’s tennis, cementing himself as a solid top-10 player during the Big Four era. He reached a Grand Slam final at the US Open and lifted 12 titles.
But injuries have kept him sidelined on-and-off for the last three years. When the Japanese star has been healthy, he’s been a force to be reckoned with, lifting Challenger titles and beating top players.
He proved he was still a threat at last week’s ATP 250 in Hong Kong, beating the likes of Karen Khachanov and Cameron Norrie to finish as the runner-up. Now, Nishikori is setting his sights on a battle with Alcaraz and Sinner.
The 35-year-old has already spent plenty of time practising with world No. 1 Sinner, and he’s keen to test himself against the best young players.
Kei Nishikori finished as the runner-up in Hong Kong (Image: Getty)
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“What I like about Kei is that he wants to play the young guns just to see how they play, how they move, how they think, how they plan their shots,” Nishikori’s coach Thomas Johansson told the .
“He’s been practising quite a bit with , because I’m also very good friends with (his coach) Darren Cahill. It’s amazing to see those two practise, the level is extremely high.
“When we play the same tournaments, we always try to practise with them. It’s good for Kei to feel, ‘Okay, this is the best of the best’.”
Now, Nishikori wants the chance to come up against another generational talent. Johansson continued: “We haven’t been able to practise with Alcaraz, yet we would love to.
“If Kei would play one of those two in Melbourne, of course he’s the big, big underdog. But he would love that.”
If Nishikori gets the chance to prove himself against someone like Alcaraz or Sinner at a competitive level, his coach believes he can pull off the upset. Johansson, who won the Australian Open in 2002, added: “I would say he can take down anyone on any given day.”
The Japanese tennis icon will be back in action at the Australian Open for the first time since 2021, entering the tournament with his protected ranking of No. 46.
But Nishikori won’t need to use his special ranking for much longer as he’s risen to No. 74 in the world thanks to his run in Hong Kong.