Whoever made the booking for Kei Nishikori’s flight to Australia missed one minor detail.
The December 28 departure and December 30 arrival meant the Japanese star would spend his 27th birthday high above the Pacific Ocean.
But for the world No.5, that didn’t seem to matter much.
“I didn’t really celebrate,” Nishikori said after touching down for his seventh Brisbane International. “But many people told me when I arrived, ‘Congratulations’.”
Nishikori has more important things on his mind.
Namely, he’s eyeing a first ATP Masters 1000 title in 2017, as well as the shot at a maiden grand slam title.
He feels as though the Australian summer offers one of his best chances at the latter, but he isn’t putting too much pressure on himself.
“I hope that 2017 is going to be a good year for me,” said Nishikori, who holds an 11-6 record in Brisbane.
“These next few years are very important for me, before I’m 30. I want to get bigger titles to my name. It requires strength mentally and physically. I’m getting closer to the top level.”
There were no grand off-season changes for Nishikori.
He has kept his long-time coach Dante Bottini as well as Michael Chang, who’s been on his team since 2014, the year he made the US Open final.
He spent time at home in Japan after qualifying for a third ATP World Tour Finals in London, and then put in pre-season training blocks in California and Florida. He also visited Hawaii for a few days, for the wedding of friend and fellow Japanese player, Go Soeda.
But as the No.3 seed in Brisbane, Nishikori will have to work hard to better his previous best result of a run to the semifinals in 2012, 2013 and 2015.
He is drawn to face Stan Wawrinka in the final four and then top seed and defending Milos Raonic, Rafael Nadal or Dominic Thiem in the final, should the top seeds hold.
“This year is tough in Brisbane,” he said. “I’ve been here six times before and I feel like the draw this year is almost a (ATP) 500 level. [Brisbane is a 250 tournament.] I’m getting ready for Melbourne in two weeks.”
Nishikori loves playing in Australia, partly because of the massive amount of support he gets from fans, including the droves of Japanese that attend his matches.
He has worked on his consistency in the past couple of months, as well as beefing up what can be, an at times, attackable serve.
The first tournament of the year, however, can be a challenge.
“It’s tricky. It’s not always easy to have a great start in your first tournament of the year,” he said.
“You try to prepare 100 per cent, but it’s not simple. The heat is very tough, but otherwise I feel very comfortable in Australia.
“I’ve made a lot of adjustments to my tennis. I think it’s going in a good way.”