TENNIS AUSTRALIAN OPEN – 20th of January 2015. K.Nishikori d. N.Almagro 6-4, 7-6, 6-2. An interview with Kei Nishikori
Q. Do you think that you have taken your game to another level that’s more suited to the majors?
KEI NISHIKORI: I think so, yeah. Getting close to next level. Obviously was really tough, tough first match. He could be seeded player, and I know he was injured, but still was tough match. Yeah, was a little bit windy, so we both didn’t play maybe 100%. But I was getting more balls, especially third set, and I was play much better third set.
Q. And is it right that you did a big block of training over the sort of Christmas period above and beyond to get ready for this?
KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah. I had a good three weeks. Always train with Michael and Dante, and I did a lot of conditioning stuff, too. So I think I should be ready for this week.
Q. Li Na just said you will definitely win a Master in your career. How encouraging is that to hear from her?
KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah, that’s a good thing to hear from her. It was very sad to see she’s retiring, because I was — she was big, big leadership for especially Asian tennis. I think I’m getting close to — not really — but getting close to her. Hopefully I can win a Masters. For sure that’s going to be my next goal. Hopefully I can come back Grand Slam final again.
