Kei Nishikori earns Andy Murray’s respect for winning a title after almost 3 years despite being unranked

Like Nishikori, the Brit missed quite a lot of tennis due to a hip injury for which he underwent surgery.

Kei Nishikori earns Andy Murray’s respect for winning a title after almost 3 years despite being unranked

Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori (Images via Daily Express and Mainichi.jp)

Former World No. 1 Andy Murray congratulated Kei Nishikori for winning a title after 20 months of absence. The Japanese star recently became champion at the Caribbean Open, which is an ATP Challenger Tour 75 event held in Puerto Rico. He defeated America’s Michael Zheng in the final with scores of 6-2 and 7-5.

Nishikori was sidelined from the game due to his elbow issues, but this title at the Challenger tournament marked an impressive comeback for the 33-year-old. His last ATP main tour event was the 2021 Indian Wells, where he faced a second-round loss. Winning the Challenger tournament helped him prepare more before facing the top men’s players.

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Moreover, the win in Puerto Rico earned Nishikori and Andy Murray’s respect. Like Nishikori, the Brit missed quite a lot of tennis due to a hip injury, for which he underwent surgery. But he has been able to make a comeback and is on a roll at the Challengers events. Murray is on a 10-match win streak, winning titles at the Surbiton Challenger and recently the Nottingham Challenger.

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Murray took to Twitter and wrote, “Well done Kei Nishikori, winning on your comeback“.

Nishikori also acknowledged Murray for his congratulations and thanked him for being his inspiration. He wrote: “Thank you, Andy, you are a big inspiration.”

Murray defeated Arthur Cazaux in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, in the final of the Nottingham Challenger. The Scottish star will be next seen on the court when he faces Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the first round of the Queen’s Club Championships on Tuesday (June 20).

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Kei Nishikori expresses hope to keep going after winning the title in Puerto Rico

Kei Nishikori earns Andy Murray's respect for winning a title after almost 3 years despite being unranked
Kei Nishikori (Image via The Japan Times)

An elated Kei Nishikori expressed his happiness for playing high-level tennis without struggling with any niggle in Puerto Rico. He also thanked his sponsors and team for their support and expressed his hope that he can keep playing like this in the future as well.

“Hi, I’m very happy, won a title this week in Puerto Rico and also the way I played. It was really high level and I cannot ask more more than this. Able to play five matches in a row and my body’s okay. That’s most important, being healthy and I hope I can keep going,” said Nishikori in an interview with ATP Challenger Tour.

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