Kei Nishikori says he “almost” quit tennis last year after he saved two match points to clinch his first win at the Australian Open since 2019.
The 35-year-old Japanese missed nine successive Grand Slams from September 2021 to May 2024 after lengthy injury struggles.
Making his first appearance in Melbourne for four years, Nishikori edged a five-set thriller against Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro 4-6 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 6-2 6-3.
Explaining how close he came to retiring, former US Open finalist Nishikori said: “I almost came back [and then] I got injured again.
“I was thinking, if I have maybe another surgery, then I think mentally I’m not able to fight any more.”
Nishikori, who lost to Marin Cilic in the 2014 US Open final, boasts a 29-8 win record in five-set matches at Tour level.
With his victory over Monteiro, he has now won nine five-set matches at Melbourne Park and lost only once, against Roger Federer in 2017.
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