Photo/Illutration Kei Nishikori during an interview with The Asahi Shimbun on Dec. 11, 2020 (Hiroki Endo)

As former world No. 4 tennis star Kei Nishikori mulls over a dismal 2020 due to surgery and contracting the novel coronavirus, he finds hope from looking back two years ago.

He was in a similar position but rebounded to storm back into the top 10 by the end of 2018.

In an interview with The Asahi Shimbun, Nishikori, who turned 31 on Dec. 29, expressed determination to make a similar comeback in 2021. 

Nishikori finished the season ranked 41st in the 2020 Men’s Tennis ATP Rankings.

He said he has regrets that he ended the year without playing a match against a top 10 player.

“It was my fault because I could not win to advance to the next round,” he said.

In October 2019, Nishikori underwent surgery on his right elbow. He plotted a comeback afterward, but the novel coronavirus pandemic disrupted scheduled tournaments, forcing many to be canceled or postponed.

Then, Nishikori himself contracted COVID-19 in August, forcing him to skip the U.S. Open, which started later that month. 

In addition, right shoulder pain kept him out of competition. His record of two wins and four losses are not what one of the world's top players envisioned by year-end. 

Nishikori used to be a regular in the top 10 and could be counted on to make deep runs in Grand Slam tournaments. He prided himself on being ranked among the top 10 as a badge of honor for a world-class athlete.

“Reaching the top 30 can be done through having momentum. But to be ranked in the top 10, you have to keep winning with regularity throughout the season,” Nishikori said. “And winning against a top 10 player requires perseverance and patience.”

Looking ahead to a fresh start in 2021, Nishikori said he believes that he can recover his sense of winning like before.

His belief is based on his 2018 comeback. After undergoing surgery on his right wrist, he competed for the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title in April that year.

He made a come-from-behind victory against former world No. 4 Tomas Berdych in the first round. Then, he beat Marin Cilic, who was the world No. 3 at the time, and Alexander Zverev, who was No. 4, and advanced to the final, which he lost to Rafael Nadal.

The “one chance” he had been waiting for presented itself at the tournament, he recalled.

“Berdych was beating me pretty badly, and I thought I was going to lose the match. Then, suddenly, there was a turning point,” Nishikori recalled of the exact moment he turned things around.

His world ranking had dipped to as low as 39th due to the injury, but he battled his way back into the top 10 by the end of 2018.

Back then, Nishikori said he was confident that he could make a successful comeback.

Today, he is still confident that he can break into the top 10 again, he said. But he is also aware that younger generations of talented players are hungry and on the rise.

He said all players currently ranked in the top 30 rarely differ from one another in terms of playing ability.

Nishikori expects the competition to become tougher and to face more challenges as he takes the court again in 2021. But he's eager and hungry to see what the year holds for him, including the possibility of earning another Olympic medal at the postponed Tokyo Games. 

“I just can’t wait to play a match,” he said.

For the injury-plagued Nishikori, a role model has been Juan Martin del Potro, a 32-year old Argentine tennis player and former U.S. Open champion.

“He is so talented and could have been the world's No. 1 player," Nishikori said. "But he has repeatedly suffered from injuries and undergone surgeries. Compared to what he has gone through, I should not agonize too much over my situation.”

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