Yoshihito Nishioka has made coming back from a major knee injury look simple this week at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

He scouted his #NextGenATP opponent by watching YouTube videos. He adapted his gamestyle and played aggressively against Aussie Alex de Minaur. Then, during only his fifth match of the past 12 months, he routed the Sydney International finalist to set a second-round contest with 10^th seed Tomas Berdych.

But don’t let the soft-spoken left-hander’s easy success deceive you: Nishioka’s rehab from a torn ACL in his left knee was as arduous as you’d expect.

After surgery in early April 2017, Nishioka couldn’t run for three months. He couldn’t play tennis for nine months. Every day, he trudged to rehab in Tokyo, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., and then from 3-6 p.m, followed by another hour of training in the evening.

Some days, he felt depressed. He wanted to quit. He confided in countryman Kei Nishikori, who was going through his own rehab on his right wrist. Nishikori advised him to take a couple days off when he felt especially down.

“It was very tough for me,” Nishioka told ATPWorldTour.com. “I wanted to move, and I didn’t feel any pain but inside the knee, it was still very, very weak. So I had to stay. Everything, I couldn’t do it.”

While Nishioka was injured, his countryman Yuichi Sugita had the season of his career. He won his maiden ATP World Tour title at the Antalya Open in Turkey and cracked the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings.

But Nishioka harboured mixed feelings for his friend’s breakthrough.

“That was very good for Japanese tennis, but I felt a little bit mad because I was doing great before I got injured. And maybe I would have won a title too,” Nishioka said.

Before the 2017 Miami Open presented by Itau, the 5’7” left-hander had reached the quarter-finals in Acapulco and the fourth round at the BNP Paribas Open, his maiden Round of 16 at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.

Watch Nishioka Uncovered

Nishioka, then-No. 58 in the ATP Rankings, arrived in South Florida full of belief and was leading American Jack Sock 3-1 when he slid to his left and his leg “stopped”.

Nishioka slightly stumbled, leaning on his racquet as he regrouped. He played for two-and-a-half more games before rain suspended play. He eventually retired from the second-round match.

“I didn’t know how badly my knee was injured. I had never had an injury like that. I didn’t feel any pain so, [I thought], ‘Well I can play’. But my coach and the physio said, ‘You tore your ACL for sure. You have to stop’,” Nishioka said.

Better days, however, have come for Nishioka, who returned to ATP World Tour action in January, a full nine months after his injury. This week in Miami, Nishioka picked up his second win of the season after claiming his Australian Open first-rounder (d. Kohlschreiber).

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Nishikori, who also has successfully returned from injury, sees a better future ahead for Nishioka and Japanese tennis.

“Very happy to see him back. He was out for almost a year so he’s dropped his ranking, but I’m sure he can be Top 50 easy. Now Sugita is Top 50 so I hope to see [Nishioka] Top 50 again, Nishikori said.

“We are good friends. We always hang out. I’m happy to see him here, doing well. Hopefully he can keep winning.”

Nishioka, who’s slipped to No. 374 in the ATP Rankings, has a little further to go before he feels completely back. He estimates he’s at about 80 per cent of his former self, but, most importantly and what especially causes the 22-year-old to grin, is the fact that, 12 months after he couldn’t run or play tennis, he’s playing the sport he loves pain-free.

“I don’t feel anything… I can move well. I can run,” Nishioka said. “Tennis is all I can do. But if I can’t do tennis, I can’t do anything. So I’m very happy to be coming back, and hopefully no more injuries.”

Jean-Julien Rojer collected the 350th doubles win of his career Friday when he teamed with Horia Tecau at the Miami Open to defeat recent Indian Wells champion Jack Sock and Nicholas Monroe 6-1, 7-6(2).

Rojer, 36, claimed the first of his 26 titles in 2010 in Tokyo.

In another result of significance, American duo Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey upset top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 7-6(0). Since beginning the year 7-1, including a title in Sydney, last year’s No. 1 team has gone 2-4 in its past four outings, including back-to-back first-round losses in Indian Wells and Miami.

Eighth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah defeated Aussie duo Nick Kyrgios and Matt Reid 7-5, 7-5.

Watch all doubles matches live online

Juan Martin del Potro extended his winning streak to 12 matches with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 win over Robin Haase to kick off his quest to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’ at the Miami Open on Friday night.

But things won’t get any easier for the the World No. 6 Argentine, who last week won his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells. Del Potro will face former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori in the third round after the Japanese beat Australian John Millman 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3.

Del Potro said that he would need a much better effort to beat Nishikori. “It was a terrible match for me even though Robin played well,” he said. “It was a very difficult first match of the tournament for me. I’m still alive and that’s important. But I need to improve my tennis, my physicality and my mind if I want to go further. My body started to feel tired but I will have some time now to recover.”

Playing his first match in almost a month since his first-round loss in Acapulco to Denis Shapovalov, Nishikori said that the difficult nature of today’s win was a boost. “I’m happy to win; it wasn’t an easy match,” he said. “I didn’t play the past two weeks, so I had to get used to playing points again, but in the third set I thought I played well. I am feeling very good and playing with intensity for three hours today is good for my confidence.”

Did You Know?
Del Potro improved to 5-0 lifetime against Haase with Friday night’s win in Miami.