Nishikori gets career back on track
小圭在Sarasota Open第一輪取勝後的新聞稿，
大概是說他的網球生涯現正重上軌道。
去年一月時小圭開始感受到右手肘疼痛，但還是繼續參賽，
直到去年四月實在是無法忍受痛楚，卻又找不到原因。
去年九月動手術後一度以為自己回不來了，
因為那時候別說拿起球拍打球，連舉起手都有困難。
幸好手術成功，而且他意志堅決，讓他慢慢重拾比賽狀態。
其實忽然覺得他很幸福，受傷幾乎一年，復出有傷排外，
團隊也不停替他申請外卡，也細心替他挑比賽讓他慢慢抓回球感，
當然背後的財團資助也很重要，讓他不用急著復出。
LONGBOAT KEY — Kei Nishikori said he felt pain in his right elbow in January
2009.
Yet Nishikori tried to continue to play with it before stopping last April
after the pain became unbearable.
“I took MRI’s almost ten times,” he said. “And I couldn’t find a reason
why it was painful.”
Nishikori’s road to recovery — and getting back on the path toward the
tennis elite — was on hand Tuesday night at The Sarasota Open.
The clay-court Challenger Circuit tournament played at the Longboat Key Club’
s Tennis Gardens showcased Nishikori in the featured night match on center
court.
The Bradenton resident dispatched 17-year-old Vamsee Chappidi in straight
sets, 6-1, 6-1.
“I’ve always enjoyed watching him play, so it’s nice to play him,” said
Chappidi, also of Bradenton, before the match.
He sure saw the complete package in Nishikori, who at one point reached No.
56 in the world.
Now the Japanese native is rebuilding his tennis game brick-by-brick.
The pain he suffered in his right elbow brought Nishikori self-doubt
following his surgery last September.
The kind of uncertainty that can cause even the toughest competitor to lose
mental strength.
Nishikori could only raise his arm slightly to the point where swinging a
racquet was the last thing to worry about during his rehabilitation.
“It was really tough,” he said. “It was the first surgery for me. A long
time, I didn’t play tennis ... mentally I was, like, dead. I couldn’t play
tennis.”
Nishikori said he thought he might not ever play tennis again.
However, the right-hander’s determination and work ethic are persevering as
he attempts to regain his lost form — where his world ranking has dipped to
No. 345.
The Bee Gees’ song, Stayin’ Alive, blared during his warm-ups — a fitting
musical choice considering how much remains for Nishikori to get back on
track. He is looking to win for the second consecutive week after taking down
the Challenger Tour’s tournament in Savannah last week.
Of course the song could also remind people that Nishikori isn’t just a
tennis player.
He’s a bona fide rock star in the tennis world back in the Land of the
Rising Sun.
There were murmurs that 3,000 people were expected to stop in downtown Tokyo
during Nishikori’s opening round to watch the live scoring from the ATP Tour
’s website.
That’s serious celebrity pull for the 20-year-old, who trains at the Nick
Bollettieri Tennis Academy with coach Glenn Weiner.
“They fixate on some athletes, like Ichiro,” said Weiner about the
popularity of Japanese athletes in Japan. “They’ve got some swimmers, and
they’ve got some other solid athletes. And Kei is one of the most popular
tennis athletes, and tennis is kind of a big deal there.”
Nishikori will take on Tim Smyczek, who earned a first-round victory over
tournament No.1-seed Taylor Dent Monday after Dent retired due to an injury,
in the second round today.
That match is scheduled to start no earlier than 6:30 p.m. as the featured
match on center court.
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 122.100.177.107
Asiantennis 近期熱門文章
PTT體育區 即時熱門文章
49
59