For Tennis Now | @TennisNow | Saturday, January 4, 2025
Photo credit: Hong Kong Men's Tennis Open Facebook
When I was 35, Kei Nishikori he is turning the 2025 season into his glory days.
Wild card Nishikori holds a 4-3 lead over the 19-year-old Shang Juncheng when the Chinese teenager retired to dispatch Nishikori in the final of the Hong Kong Tennis Open.
Former US Open finalist Nishikori advanced to his 27th final and first since taking the 2019 Brisbane tournament.
The win puts Nishikori back in the Top 100 for the first time since October 2021. Nishikori, who had left hip surgery in 2022, rose 32 places to No. 74 in the ATP Live Rankings.
The latter pits Nishikori against the French Alexandre Muller first of all.
Muller won Jaume Munar 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. Muller raced to a 5-0 lead in the second game of the tiebreaker and closed out the set in his third.
It is the second final for Muller, who finished second in Marrakech in 2023. Muller climbs to a new career high of No. 59 in the ATP Live Rankings.
.aspx?w=390&resize=390,220&ssl=1 "Giron, McDonald, Michelsen, Krajicek, Ram Named to US Davis Cup Team")
