Kei Nishikori withdraws late from Estoril Open

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Japanese tennis star Kei Nishikori has withdrawn late from the Estoril Open.

Nishikori, a former world No. 4, had been scheduled to make his debut on the clay courts of Estoril at the age of 31. 

Nishikori, who lost to Rafael Nadal in the Barcelona Open round-of-16 last week, took a late wildcard into Estoril.

Unfortunately for the Estoril organizers, the Japanese decided to pull out of the event on Monday afternoon. 

It's a second a big blow for the Estoril organizers as French tennis star Gael Monfils withdraw from the tournament just before the start. 

Nishikori pushed Rafael Nadal into a three-setter 

Nishikori competed well against Nadal but the Spaniard won 6-0 2-6 6-2. 

"I'm not satisfied with today's match too much. I wonder why I can't keep my level for two or three sets. In the match against Tsitsipas, I played well only for a set, and today, it was just about a set too (that I could play well)," Nishikori said afterward, as revealed by Seiadoumogera. "If I had converted BPs in the first game of the 3rd set (things might have changed), but I feel annoyed that I can't keep playing well (through whole match). I don't know why, but I think one he biggest reasons is that I can't earn important points. 

"Today I could have won a game at 2-5 in the 3rd set, I lost my first service game from 40-15 and then lost the set 0-6. 

Shortly after a loss, Nishikori was planning to play Estoril. 

"I can't say if I've got more confidence or not (through the tournament). I couldn't play consistently at good level even once in last three matches, but when I was playing without hesitation there were some good moments today, so try to stay positive for the next week in Estoril," Nishikori added.

"I thought a lot about whether to play Estoril. I'm a bit worried about a risk of injury, but I want to play more matches, that's why I decided to play Estoril."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3tXzCd2

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