Nishikori wins epic then reveals he almost quit

Japanese veteran Kei Nishikori admitted Sunday he almost quit tennis last year after lengthy battles with injury, but the dream of playing at the Australian Open kept him going.

- Agencies

MELBOURNE:

The 35-year-old dug deep to save two match points in a five-set epic against Brazil's Thiago Monteiro on John Cain Arena and keep him alive for another day.

Nishikori, who reached a career-high four in the world and was a US Open finalist a decade ago, rallied to win 4-6, 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 in 4hr 6min.

"I almost gave up at match point," said Nishikori, who is on the comeback trail after spending years sidelined by major hip surgery and an ankle injury.

"He was playing very good and was on a roll. But I somehow fought through.

"It was a really tough one," he added. "I tried to stay calm even though I was almost out of the tournament. I tried to fight to the end."

After his injury battles, Nishikori returned to contest his first two Grand Slams last year since the 2021 season, reaching the second round at Roland Garros before retiring with a shoulder problem.