On Thursday at the Madrid Masters 1000, Kei Nishikori beat Aleksandar Vukic for his 450th ATP win. Although Nishikori had “no idea” about the milestone, it was pretty significant, putting him 8th on the list of active players. Novak Djokovic is way ahead of the chasing pack with 1136 wins.

There were signs on Thursday of 2014-2019 prime Kei. His ability to change direction can be seen in the second rally. He plays three successive crosscourt backhands, making space for a down the line winner. Nishikori moves his bodyweight onto his front foot and times his swing sweetly.

In a later point (1:07), Vukic hits a good kick serve that Nishikori can only play a neutral return on. He measures it well and soon gets ahead in the rally. It’s his final shot that’s the highlight: off a low ball, Nishikori creates an angle out of nowhere, guiding his racket head with his left hand to send Vukic scrambling.

Nishikori’s best run this year was in the early season Hong Kong 250 tournament. He beat Denis Shapovalov, Karen Khachanov, Cameron Norrie, and Juncheng Shang, before losing to Alexandre Muller in the final. Nishikori has struggled with injuries in the last few years after hip surgery in 2022. He once reached no.4 in the world and looked among the likeliest to challenge the big three of Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafa Nadal. Nishikori came closest to winning a Slam in 2014 when he lost the US Open final to Marin Čilić.

Even reaching the final was a remarkable achievement. Nishikori is 5'10", and in modern tennis that’s comparatively tiny. The last time a man under 6 feet won a Slam was 2004 (Gaston Gaudio at the French Open).

Nishikori is at a disadvantage every time he serves. Taller players have more margin for error, can find shorter angles in the service box, and create bigger bounces. Then there’s the power: relative newcomer Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, at 6'8", routinely makes second serves at 130mph and hits around 18 aces per match. 

But while taller players like Čilić, Gaël Monfils, and Alexander Zverev are impressive movers (and in Monfils’s case, supremely speedy), none of them have Nishikori’s dancing feet.

In a third set point (3:06), Nishikori shows a glimpse of the footwork he was famous for. He’s hit a good return down the line; Vukic is rushed and plays a defensive, floaty slice just across the centre line. Many players would be content hitting a backhand, but Nishikori skips around with lively adjustment steps, and unleashes an inside-out forehand.

In a 2016 point against Nadal in Barcelona (3:15), Nishikori showed how his foot speed and timing can turn defence into attack. He’s already had to hit several good shots just to stay level in the point – this is Nadal on clay. Kei’s pushed wide out by the tramlines to his right and plays a forehand slice that lands a foot from the baseline, giving him time to recover and preventing Nadal from moving forward. To finish, Nishikori hits a brilliantly timed forehand down the line.

Going down the line off a crosscourt ball is not easy: hitting it just slightly late can mean an error. In a crosscourt rally, you have more space and margin for error (due to the greater length and the lower part of the net), and you’re not risking playing yourself out of position. With a shot down the line, you’re more likely to miss and you’re also risking it not being good enough and the opponent getting there too easily and having open space to play crosscourt. Shots down the line have to be good, and Nishikori has been one of the masters at them.

(It was a subpar backhand down the line that gave Nadal the opportunity to build with that wide ball. Nishikori’s shot hadn’t rushed him or pushed him deep enough, and Nadal had space to play into.)

Tennis TV’s 10-minute highlight reel shows a lot of what makes Nishikori such a special player: power, speed, balance, footwork, all court game, improvisation, and hand skills. Check out the point against David Ferrer (9:23), where Nishikori shows many of those qualities in one rally. Ferrer hits a drop shot straight off the return from Nishikori, who’s expecting a crosscourt ball so is moving to his left. His legs are so explosive he can push off from his split step to reach the ball, even though he’s made a floating split step to his left in anticipation of the likelier crosscourt shot. Nishikori then fakes a topspin shot before changing the angle of his racket and playing his own drop shot, while moving at speed then sliding into the shot.

It’s been a while since Kei was competing at the top. Rivals like Nadal and Ferrer have retired. Nishikori’s Madrid fans will be hoping he can go one better than in 2014 when he lost to Nadal in the final. As for Nishikori himself: “I just try to play one match at a time.”