Kei Nishikori names a final versus Federer his dream match

Kei Nishikori has been at the top of tennis for many years and has played on the Masters level since 2008, so he spoke about his fondest memories with ATPTour.com.

He made his Masters 1000 event debut in 2008 at the Indian Wells Masters aged 18. It was only a month removed from his maiden ATP title in Delray Beach. Now many years he spoke about his fondest memories he accumulated playing at these events.

The interview started in a lighthearted tone when Nishikori was asked which host city was his favorite to which he said:

"I would say Madrid because I did well [there]. I also like Monte-Carlo, but I would say Madrid is first."

He also spoke fondly about the upcoming Miami Open where he reached the final in 2016 saying he has many good memories tied to Miami and he lives close by. That final was one of four Masters finals he played in his career with the other three coming in Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Toronto.

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He also spoke about his Monte Carlo run in 2018 where he named his comeback win over Berdych his best at a Masters:

"I would say Monte-Carlo in 2018. I beat quite good players there. I was struggling with my injury and in my first match against Tomas Berdych, I came back from a set down and maybe a break [in the second set]."

Speaking about his dream match at a Masters he said it would be against Federer:

"I would play Roger because he is my idol. If we can play a couple more times, it would be great because it is just fun to play against him. You get many experiences from [playing] him. I am sure he is going to play a couple more years. Before he retires, I want to play him a couple more times. A final would be great."

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Nishikori was also asked what was the best match at the Masters ever and in his opinion, it was the match between Nadal and Coria at the Rome Masters final in 2005. About it, he said:

"I didn’t see it live, but Rafa and Coria in Rome [in 2005] in five sets. I really remember it and I still watch it sometimes, even now. That was a great, great match."

To conclude the interview he said the Indian Wells court was his favourite one due to their great facilities which he names as one of the best in the world:

"I have to say, Indian Wells, because they have great facilities. One of the best in the world. Not just Centre Court. Court 1 is big, Court 2 is also quite big. I would say, Indian Wells. I like Court 1 actually, I played a lot of matches there. "

Check out some of the best points from the 2005 Rome final: