Yoshihito
Nishioka responded to an interview, revealing his excitement for the return of
the ATP Tour to China
World No.
46 is already prepared to kick off the Asian tour at the ATP 250 Zhuhai Open
against Frenchman Terence Atmane. Nishioka will be the 8th seed in a main draw
that features top favorites like world No. 15 Karen Khachanov and world No. 23
Jan-Lennard Struff.
The
Japanese star expressed his excitement in an interview with the ATP about
playing in Asia again and analyzed his game, highlighting how to counteract the
height of his opponents, as he is one of the shortest tennis players within the
top-100.
“I don’t
play with power, so I have to think about how to play my points, and always
have to make big plans as to how to beat my opponents before I go on to the
court,” he said.
“Sometimes
I think my tennis is interesting to watch, because some other players don’t do
it like I do. That is the reason some of the bigger players don’t like it, that
they start to panic a little bit,” Nishioka added
“But that
is the way I play. I have to do things differently.”
Nishioka
recalled some of his great results this year, highlighting the fourth round
appearances at the Australian Open and Roland Garros:
“It is
always special when you do well in a Grand Slam and it was my first time in the
Round of 16 at the Aussie Open and also at the French Open. It was a great
feeling,” he said.
“But that
was interesting, because I started to feel more pressure because I had to keep
the seeding, keep the ranking. I was thinking too much. I started to feel that
pressure.
“That is
the reason that, after the French Open, I didn’t do so well on the Tour. That
is something I have learned from this rise and I think I had to change (things)
a little bit.”
The
27-year-old tennis player is the highest-ranked Asian and has won both of his
titles there, the first one in Shenzhen in 2018 and again in Seoul in 2022.
Nishioka reached his best ranking as world No. 24 in June 2023.
“I was very
close to the Top 20 but when I thought too much about what it is, then (I put)
a little bit too much pressure on myself, (which was) different from normal,”
he said.
“It is
always good to come back for the Asian Swing and it is the first time the ATP
Tour events are back in China after COVID, so I really am very excited to be
able to play here,” he said.
“I won my
first ATP Tour event in China and I have played well here. It is always
enjoyable to play in China and to compete in Asia again."
“If I can
play much, much better, that will be great,” he concluded.
