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"Looking good man" - Dennis Shapovalov reacts to Kei Nishikori working on his one-handed backhand in training

By Gautam Chauhan
Modified Aug 04, 2022 18:47 GMT
Denis Shapovalov was impressed with the Japanese's one-handed backhand.
Denis Shapovalov was impressed with the Japanese's one-handed backhand.

Japanese tennis star Kei Nishikori has been practicing a one-handed backhand while training at the IMG Academy. He took to Twitter to ask Denis Shapovalov for feedback.

The Canadian, who is known for his one-handed backhand, was quick to reply and praise Nishikori.

"Looking good man," Shapovalov said, replying to Nishikori's query.

Kei Nishikori and Denis Shapovalov's recent struggles

The Japanese in action. Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
The Japanese in action. Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Kei Nishikori was last seen in action at the Indian Wells Masters in October last year, where he lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Daniel Evans in the Round of 64. He has since been on the sidelines due to a hip injury. The 32-year-old has been on the comeback trail recently, having returned to training this July.

The Japanese was expected to take part in the ongoing Citi Open but decided against taking a wildcard entry to the tournament. Furthermore, he also decided to withdraw from the forthcoming Winston-Salem Open in North Carolina, just as he did for the Atlanta Open last month.

The Matsue-born is now preparing for the US Open, where he will be looking to make a solid return to the tour. The current world no. 160 best result at the New York Major came when he made it to the final in 2014 but could not cross the last hurdle against Croatia's Marin Cilic and lost in straight sets.

Denis Shapovalov, on the other hand, has had a mixed season to date. He lost to J.J. Wolf in the Round of 16 at the Citi Open on Thursday. Partnering with Denis Kudla, he made an exit in the doubles too, losing to Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop.

He has not fared well in the last two Grand Slams either, losing to Brandon Nakashima in the second round of Wimbledon after making a first-round exit at the hands of Holger Rune at Roland Garros.

However, the Canadian had a good run at the Australian Open. The youngster, who is known to play attractive tennis, beat the likes of Reilly Opelka and Alexander Zverev en route to the quarterfinals, where he lost to eventual champion Rafael Nadal.