Nishikori: "There are players like Sinner or Alcaraz, who I haven't faced yet."

Kei Nishikori spoke on the sidelines of the ATP 250 tournament in Hong Kong, where he has been awarded a wild card and will face Denis Shapovalov.

The Japanese spoke of his motivation and fitness. He declared: "I still have the same passion as 10 years ago.

I still love tennis, the competition, playing matches against these guys.

There are players like Sinner and Alcaraz, the younger ones, who I haven't played against yet.

It's something I'd like to do this year if I can improve my level and my ranking.

It's a good motivation for me to play against these young talents. I finished 2024 pretty well.

Not in the best possible way, but I still finished well, notably by winning the Challenger in the last tournament of the year.

That gave me a lot of confidence to win more matches on the ATP circuit.

I need to gain even more confidence to win more matches at the highest level, and that's what I need to do this week.

It's important to do well here (in Hong Kong) in preparation for the Australian Open. Physically, I'm doing well at last.

In the last two years, and even in 2024, I've also had difficulties at the halfway stage.

Tennis-wise, I'm feeling more confident and I feel like I can play with anyone. It's all very positive.

I want to enjoy every match and this week is a good challenge for me. I'm feeling good again, training here has been good, so I think I'm ready to play.

Right now, the situation is different."