A seemingly endless battle with injuries kept Kei Nishikori from the Australian Open for four years but on Sunday the Japanese trailblazer returned to win a five-set marathon and reach the second round.
Pushed to the brink by Thiago Monteiro, Nishikori came back from two sets down and saved two match points in a 4-6, 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 win over the Brazilian journeyman at Margaret Court Arena.
Norwegian sixth seed Casper Ruud also had to sweat it out before scoring a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 victory over Spaniard Jaume Munar.
"Really tough one. I almost forgot he had two match-points," Nishikori said after the four-hour, six-minute slog.
"I almost gave up (on) match point.
"He was playing very good in the first and second. He was on a roll.
"He deserved to win today but somehow I fought through."
A four-times quarter-finalist at Melbourne Park, Nishikori's previous appearance at the tournament was in 2021 when he was bundled out of the first round by Spain's Pablo Carrena Busta.
The ensuing years have been tough, with injuries seeing him tumble out of the top 100.
It has been a humbling fall for a former top-five player who remains the only man from an Asian country to reach a Grand Slam final following his run to the 2014 US Open decider.
But under Swedish coach Thomas Johansson, the 2002 Australian Open winner, things have been on the up.
He soared back into the top 100 with a runner-up finish at the Hong Kong Open a week ago, his first ATP final since Brisbane in 2019.
On Sunday, an upper leg strain hampered Monteiro as the match wore on but there was plenty to like about the Japanese veteran's game.
He conjured the old magic with a string of breathtaking forehand winners from the baseline, leaving pockets of Japanese fans delighted.
"It was incredible. It was so much fun on the court even though I was dead by the end," said Nishikori, who next faces either Australian Christopher O'Connell or 12th-seeded American Tommy Paul.
“It was a really tough match; I know Jaume well because we are both practising a lot in the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca,” said Ruud after the match.
“When you know someone quite well, it’s always tricky because he knows my game, I know his game, and we are good friends also,” Ruud said. “I told him at the net, I got a bit lucky at the end.”
“I’m happy I stepped up and played some good points when I had to,” he added. The 26-year-old struck 48 winners and converted five break points during the match, precisely matching Munar's statistics.
Munar won seven fewer points than Ruud, and though he’s yet to clinch a maiden ATP Tour title and hasn’t made it further than the third round of a Grand Slam in 25 attempts, he’ll likely take confidence from how close the contest was.
Ruud, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, next plays the winner of Monday’s battle between Jakub Mensik and qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili.
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