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Yoshihito Nishioka finished second at the 2023 Zhuhai Championships after being bettered by Karen Khachanov. However, he faced a little trouble when he stepped up to the podium to give remarks during the trophy presentation ceremony.
Nishioka was playing his first ATP Tour final of the year and faced top seed Khachanov, who was searching for his first title since 2018. The Japanese star fought bravely in the first set, but the Russian ultimately took the lead in the contest via a tiebreaker. Khachanov then wrapped up the win by sweeping aside Nishioka, 7-6 (2), 6-1.
Hilarious scenes unfolded afterward when both players received their trophies and were about to give speeches. Nishioka was first up. However, his remarks were hindered, as the mic was set too high for the 5'5" player. He asked the organizers to lower the mic for him, saying:
"The mic is too high for me."
After the mic was adjusted, Nishioka congratulated Khachanov and stated that he had no regrets after a great week and an excellent final, where he left everything out of the court. On a side note, the Japanese also expressed his sadness at turning 28 tomorrow (September 27).
"Congrats for winning the tournament Karen. Today, I used all my energy. I gave everything on court. I don’t have any regrets. This is the last day as a 27 year old for me. Tomorrow I’m 28. A little bit sad, but I had a great week here," he said.
How has Yoshihito Nishioka performed so far in 2023?
Yoshihito Nishioka has performed constantly enough in 2023 to stay in the top 50 ATP rankings. The World No. 46 began his year with a semifinal appearance at the Adelaide International 1, losing to Sebastian Korda.
He then put on his best showing at a Grand Slam tournament by reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open. Nishioka defeated Mikael Ymer, Dalibor Svrcina, and Mackenzie McDonald before losing to Karen Khachanov.
He struggled to find his footing after the year's first Major and had no standout results until the French Open. In Paris, the 27-year-old matched his performance in Melbourne and reached the fourth round after beating J.J. Wolf, Max Purcell, and Thiago Seyboth Wild before being knocked out by Tomas Etcheverry.
Yoshihito Nishioka again went under the radar until the Zhuhai Championships. The Japanese No. 1 will next compete at the China Open in Beijing and face local player Shang Juncheng in the first round.
He is also expected to defend his crown at the ATP 250 Korea Open, where he bettered Denis Shapovalov to lift his second career title last year.
