Kei Nishikori, who will face Fernando Verdasco on Sunday in Miami, says that this season he wants to win an ATP 1000 title.
The No. 4 reached the final of the 2014 US Open and the 2016 finals at Miami and Toronto. Now, he wants to lift the trophy.
“I think if I can win big tournaments like this or some Masters, that's going to give me a lot of confidence for sure,” said the 27-year-old Nishikori. “That's my next goal, to win the big tournaments. But I think I'm on the right track. I think last year was a very solid year. I fight through the whole year without too much injury, so that was something I learned many things from last year. If I can stay healthy, I will have some chance sometimes.”
Nishikori has upset Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray on occasion, and also defeated Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the US Open, but since then, Djokovic has beaten Nishikori 10 straight times. The last time the faced each other, in the 2016 ATP Tour Finals in November, Djokovic swept him aside, 6-1, 6-1.
The Serb is his toughest opponent among the Big Four. “Maybe the record show, maybe Djokovic. I haven't beat him [in a] long time,” Nishikori said. “But everyone is tough. There [are] many young players coming up and there is no easy match. I think especially with this Masters level.”
