Melbourne, Jan 13 (IANS) Kei Nishikori's last-eight finish here last year was the best of his career in a major and the Japanese tennis player admitted Sunday that being back at Melbourne Park brought back mixed emotions.
"I have good memories here. Played really well last year. Hopefully I can go same or farther. That's my goal this year. But it's going to be pressure for sure from the first round," said Nishikori, reports Xinhua.
A thrilling five set upset against No.6 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga not only generated an enormous amount of publicity in his homeland but also made Nishikori the first Japanese player in 80 years to reach the final eight of the Australian Open.
He then used his result here as a springboard to greater success in 2012.
Staring the season at No.25, Nishikori reached the top 20 following Melbourne and eventually peaked at No.15 in October after becoming the first Japanese player to capture the Japan Open title in the tournament's 41-year history.
"It was an amazing feeling. It was my goal to win the tournament. It's my home country. Actually, I never played well in the past three-four years. Last year was different. A lot of confidence coming to play the tournament. It was one of my dreams to win the tournament. So I was really happy," said Nishikori.
Nishikori's opening round will be against Victor Hanescu of Romania.
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