Nishikori picks up first win of 2018 in Dallas

While the stars were Down Under battling for the Australian Open, former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori was rehabbing his wrist and practicing for a more unconventional return.

After missing the rest of the 2017 season from the Rogers Cup in August onward, Nishikori played his first match last week at a ATP Challenger in Newport Beach, falling to Dennis Novikov in three sets. And who did the Japanese superstar face in the first round in his next tournament? Novikov.

This time, the world No. 27 moved past Novikov 6-3, 6-3 in just over an hour in the opening round at the RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas (an ATP Challenger event). It marks his first win since Washington.

"I still need to work on a lot of areas but my wrist felt good so that's a relief," Nishikori said.

Nishikori, who will play his first ATP tournament in a few weeks indoors in New York, served well throughout  the win and showed impressive depth on his groundstrokes after such a long time away.

"My serve, returns were great. After returning the first serve I was able to start a rally which is my strength," he said. "I wasn't as nervous as I was last week, I was more hyped up and I was able to get myself into my game more. The more repetitions I get, the better tennis I will be able to play."

The 28-year-old has been hard at work leading into this tournament, practicing with John Isner ahead of his Dallas debut.

Nishikori is the top seed in Dallas.