Kei Nishikori withdraws from ATP Cup. Will not challenge Nadal and Djokovic

Just a day after turning 30, the Japanese no. 1 Kei Nishikori was forced to skip the inaugural ATP Cup due to an ongoing right elbow injury. Japan will compete in Group B with Spain, Georgia and Uruguay and they have zero chances of reaching the quarter-final now, with Yoshihito Nishioka as their leading singles player. For the second time in three years, Nishikori finishes the season outside the top-10, struggling with injuries and missing all the action after the US Open. The Japanese has been sidelined since September due to an elbow injury, undergoing surgery on October 22 but still not recovering enough to play at his best. In the offseason, Nishikori added Max Mirnyi to his coaching staff but the Belarusian will have to wait to make a debut alongside Michael Chang, as Kei withdrew from the Hawaii Open in the last days of December as well.

Kei had stayed in the top-10 until the end of October, kicking off the 2019 campaign with the title in Brisbane before retiring in the quarter-final at the Australian Open against Novak Djokovic after passing a couple of challenging encounters en route to the last eight. He was the semi-finalist in Rotterdam in what was his final notable result before April and Barcelona where Daniil Medvedev toppled him in the battle for the title match in a tight deciding set. The Japanese advanced into the quarter-final in Rome, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, gaining a few ranking positions but losing them quickly after competing at only five matches following the All England Club, failing to score a win in Montreal and Cincinnati and heading to New York with low confidence. There, Kei ousted Marco Trungelliti and Bradley Klahn before losing to Alex de Minaur in four sets in what turned out to be his last match on the Tour so far, hoping to make a comeback in New York in February.

"Unfortunately, I have to pull out of the ATP Cup. Today, together with my team, we have made the decision as I'm still not at my 100% and unable to play on the highest level. The decision was not taken lightly as Australia is one of my favorite places to compete. I will keep working hard and try to get back to the court as soon as possible. Thanks for all the support."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/37otsXM