Japanís Kei Nishikori celebrates after his victory against Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro in their men’s singles match on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 12, 2025. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP)

Japanese veteran Kei Nishikori saved two match points to battle back and stay alive in a five-set epic at the Australian Open Sunday, admitting he almost gave up.

The 35-year-old, who reached a career-high four in the world and was a US Open finalist a decade ago, was on the brink of defeat at John Cain Arena against Thiago Monteiro.

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But he rallied to beat the Brazilian 4-6, 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 in 4hr 6min.

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“I almost gave up at match point,” said Nishikori, who is on the comeback trail after spending years sidelined by major hip surgery and an ankle injury.

“He was playing very good and was on a roll. But I somehow fought through.

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“It was a really tough one,” he added. “I tried to stay calm even though I was almost out of the tournament. I tried to fight to the end.”

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Nishikori, the first Grand Slam men’s singles finalist from Asia at the US Open in 2014, had played eight five-set matches before at Melbourne Park and only lost once — against Roger Federer in 2017.

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After battling injuries for years, he returned to contest his first two Grand Slams last year since the 2021 season, reaching the second round at Roland Garros and crashing in his opening clash at Wimbledon.

But he gave a glimpse of his progress since then by making his first final in six years at the Hong Kong Open this month.

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Now coached by 2002 Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson, Nishikori will next play either American 12th seed Tommy Paul or Australia’s Chris O’Connell.

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