Former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori’s return to the ATP Tour after a lengthy injury absence on Thursday ended in a first-round 6-3, 6-4 loss to Sebastian Ofner.
Japan’s Nishikori has barely played on the ATP Tour in the past two years, with his last appearance coming at Atlanta, Georgia, in July last year.
Given a wild card by the organizers, the 2016 Miami finalist was not surprisingly a little off the pace against 40th-ranked Austrian Ofner as he struggled to replicate his practice form.
Photo: AP
“I thought I was practicing well, playing much better. I was feeling the rhythm and I was feeling the ball pretty good in the practice, but during the match it’s completely different,” Nishikori told reporters. “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.”
At 34, Nishikori faces a real challenge to work his way back up the rankings, but he believes that in time he can get back to an elite level.
“I don’t have the clear goal right now, you know I just want to play a lot of matches. I need some time to get used to [matches] and hopefully I can stay healthy, I think that’s the only goal this year, I try to play as many matches as I can play,” he said.
Gael Monfils, the 37-year-old Frenchman, turned on the style in his 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 win over Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic.
“It was a great match, he played well and I am still playing for these moments, these challenges. I feel like the fire is still there,” he said.
Britain’s Dan Evans battled back for a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.
In the women’s singles, Caroline Wozniacki was a point away from winning in straight sets against Anhelina Kalinina, but the Ukrainian ended up winning 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.
Wozniacki, who returned to the WTA Tour last year after a three-year absence, during which she gave birth to two children, reached the quarter-finals at Indian Wells.
Fourth seed Elena Rybakina suffered a scare against Denmark’s Clara Tauson before battling back for a 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 win.
Rybakina, who had wins in Brisbane and Abu Dhabi, as well as a runner-up finish in Doha, had to miss Indian Wells due to illness and said she was still finding her way back to her best.
“I am happy with the win. It means a lot, I hadn’t really played for more than a week and it’s going to take time for me to get back in my best form, but happy to get another chance,” Rybakina said.
Maria Sakkari of Greece, beaten finalist to Iga Swiatek in California, defeated China’s Yuan Yue 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round.
Ninth seed Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, had to work hard for a 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 victory over qualifier Laura Siegemund of Germany.
In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico fell to a 6-3, 6-1 defeat to Russians Irina Khromacheva and Ekaterina Alexandrova, while Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine were beaten 6-4, 4-6, 11-9 by Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia and Shuko Aoyama of Japan.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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