“My Idol”: Kei Nishikori Wishes to Play Against Roger Federer at ATP Masters 1000

Published 03/22/2021, 6:00 AM EDT

Veteran Japanese tennis star Kei Nishikori has revealed who he would like to play in his dream ATP Masters 1000 match. The 31-year-old Nishikori, who is striving to rise from a career slump and work his way up the rankings again, said that playing 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer would qualify as a dream match for him at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

“It is just fun to play against him”: Nishikori on Federer

Currently ranked 39th in singles, the Japanese said that he considers the Swiss champion as his “idol” and would love to fight him on a tennis court a couple more times before he is done.

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“I would play Roger because he is my idol”, Nishikori told atptour.com. “If we can play a couple more times, it would be great because it is just fun to play against him.”

After suffering an ignominious opening-round exit at this year’s Australian Open, the 31-year-old Japanese has taken some strides in rediscovering his best form.

Shrugging off his first-round loss to Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta at Melbourne Park and eyeing a return to the Top-10 in singles, Nishikori reached the quarter-finals at ATP Rotterdam and the Dubai Open.

Kei Nishikori says he’s sure Roger Federer will play for a couple more years

On Federer’s comeback at the recent Qatar Open after a 14-month injury-enforced absence and his future in the game, the Japanese said that he would dearly want the 39-year-old Swiss to carry on for, at least, a couple of years, adding that there’s a lot to learn just by watching him in action.

“I am sure he is going to play a couple more years. Before he retires, I want to play him a couple more times,” Nishikori said.

He added that while playing the Swiss at any level in a tournament is a challenge as much as it is a privilege, he wishes to play him in a final.

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While the Japanese went down to Croatian Borna Coric in the quarter-finals at Rotterdam, he lost to rising South African and eventual finalist Lloyd Harris in the last-eight clash in Dubai.

However, his dream of meeting Federer at a Masters 1000 event would have to wait as the Swiss, along with Big Three rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, as well as a host of other top stars, have pulled out of this year’s Miami Open.

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Priyabrata Chowdhury is a tennis author for EssentiallySports. He has been a print journalist for a decade, producing news pages for leading national dailies such as the Hindustan Times and The New Indian Express. His passion for sports eventually drove him to tennis writing.

“My Idol”: Kei Nishikori Wishes to Play Against Roger Federer at ATP Masters 1000

“It is just fun to play against him”: Nishikori on Federer

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Kei Nishikori says he’s sure Roger Federer will play for a couple more years