Coaches Corner

Coach Johansson on Nishikori's resurgence: 'Kei is after the young guns'

Thomas Johansson has no doubts that Kei Nishikori can still compete with the very best.

"I would say he can take down anyone on any given day," the Swedish coach said of his charge, whom he has worked with since February 2024, this week in Hong Kong. On Saturday, Nishikori booked his first ATP Tour final appearance since Brisbane 2019 at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open.

The Japanese icon Nishikori has already had a career most players would sign up for, but he has been derailed in recent campaigns by a multitude of injuries.

"It's been a pleasure to work with him from the first day, he's so eager to listen, even though he's been No. 4 in the world, into a Slam final, best Asian player ever, and one of the best players ever in our sport," said Johansson. "I'm impressed by him every single day, he's so professional, he's still so eager to improve."

Say hello to your finalist, Kei Nishikori 👋

He advances after Shang has to retire at 4-3 in the first set… @Hkto_mens pic.twitter.com/X4M9nQH0Nx

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 4, 2025

Johansson recalls that he actually played Nishikori during his playing days, when he led 7-5 at Nottingham 2008, before his current player was forced to retire.

"I knew him a little bit. I would say he's one of the players that I really enjoyed to watch. The level that he had, or he has, it's just amazing," said Johansson, a former No.7 in the PIF ATP Rankings. "He's been very unfortunate with injuries, so I always say that tennis is the smallest problem we have, it's his body.

"When we started in Miami (2024) I would say he was not ready, he was not 100 per cent. Maybe he was 70, but at the same time I wanted him to go play and see how the body would react as well. Finally, now he feels a lot stronger and you can also see that the body is a lot more solid than before.

"2024 was a great year, but also we had to pull back a lot from some tournaments where he got injured and he didn't feel well. He didn't want to risk it."

The 2025 campaign has got off to an electric start for Team Nishikori. The 35-year-old has outmanoeuvred three former Top 10 opponents – Denis Shapovalov, Karen Khachanov and Cameron Norrie – at Victoria Park to build on momentum gained at the tail end of 2024, when he won an ATP Challenger Tour trophy in Helsinki, Finland.

"We've been working lots on the serve. This week has been a massive step in the right direction, because I think that finally, now he can get some free points off the serve," stated Johansson, a Hong Kong semi-finalist himself back in 1997 and 1998. "It's a quick surface. When we came here, I felt that this would be good for Kei. So, I'm very, very happy with that. Then of course, the level that he's had for the whole week has been very, very impressive."

As a result of his Hong Kong heroics, Nishikori will return to the Top 100 for the first time since June 2022 on Monday. His ability to push even higher may well hinge on whether the 12-time tour-level titlist can remain in action on Tour.

"The goal for this year is to try to have a full year, meaning that we can play the tournaments that we want to play and not have to pull back because of injuries," said Johansson. "It's difficult to say because I know, everybody knows, all the players know, how good Kei can play. But you also need the consistency. We all know that you cannot only play well for one week, you have to play well for maybe 10 tournaments to be able to have a high ranking.

"From making a Slam final or semi-finals, title matches, it's great he was open to go down a level to Challengers to get matches. I do think that it has helped him a lot now, especially this week. He played a lot of matches at the end of last year and the body is used to it now."

A huge incentive for Nishikori to wrestle his way back to the upper echelons of the sport is to challenge himself against the current generational talents in the spotlight.

"What I like about Kei is that he wants to play the young guns, just to see how they play, how they move, how they think, how they plan their shots," said the 49-year-old Johansson. "He's been practising quite a bit with Jannik Sinner, because I'm also very good friends with (his coach) Darren Cahill. It's amazing to see those two practise, the level is extremely high.

"When we play the same tournaments, we always try to practise with them. It's good for Kei to feel, 'Okay, this is the best of the best.' We haven't been able to practise with (Carlos) Alcaraz, yet we would love to. If Kei would play one of those two in Melbourne, of course he's the big, big underdog. But he would love that."

Johansson knows what it takes to go all the way at Melbourne Park, where he lifted the title at the 2002 Australian Open. Who would take the honours in peak Johansson versus peak Nishikori clash?

"Kei has no chance," said Johansson with a grin. "I'm kidding. We are two completely different players… I think I had maybe a better serve than Kei. I do think Kei has a better backhand, a better forehand. I do think Kei has a better slice, better movement, I do think Kei has a better volley. I would say maybe it would go to Kei in four sets."

Story republished with the permission of hkmenstennisopen.com