Amazingly enough, both Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori are playing tennis again. And–at least for now–they are winning.
Raonic, who had not played a match since July of 2021, is jumping right back into the main tour at this week’s Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The 32-year-old Canadian won his opening match at the grass-court ATP 250 earlier this week, beating Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4. Raonic fired 15 aces, and although he double-faulted seven times he was broken just once while advancing after one hour and 25 minutes.
“It’s nice to be here after almost two years now and stepping away for a long time,” Raonic said. “It’s nice to be giving it one more try and hopefully going as far as I can. I’ve put in the best effort I could, and I want to see how far it takes me.
“It’s been a real pleasure to get to play in front of people. I didn’t get to hit a single tennis ball for a full year. Now I get to play in front of a bunch of people. It was pretty nerve-wracking; I forgot that feeling. To be honest with you it might have been a little bit easier if I played in front of nobody today.”
Nishikori wins in Puerto Rico
Nishikori had not played a match since Indian Wells in the fall of 2021. The 33-year-old from Japan is making his comeback at the Palmas del Mar Challenger, where he opened with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over world No. 333 Christian Langmo on Tuesday.
Nishikori peaked as high as No. 4 in the rankings. Raonic, who was once third in the world and reached the Wimbledon final in 2016, will face Jordan Thompson on Thursday.
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