Japanese Kei Nishikori, former world No.4, lost Friday to American Taylor Fritz, 6-4, 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 tournament in Atlanta where he signed his return to competition this week.
Nishikori, now down to 439th place, put up a good resistance in the first round against the 9th player in the world. The two players each kept their serve for the first five games, before Fritz made the break to finally pocket the set after 34 minutes (6-4).
The Japanese, who seemed to have difficulty moving around the court, was treated on his left knee during a medical time-out between sets, and after giving up his serve in the second game, he was never able to resume the game. above.
Nishikori, holder of 12 ATP titles, however, managed his comeback as he picked up victories over Australian Jordan Thompson and Chinese Shang Juncheng to reach the quarter-finals.
The 2014 US Open finalist was competing in his first ATP tournament since 2021, as he returned from left hip surgery in January 2022.
Fritz will face compatriot J.J. Wolf, winner of Germany’s Dominik Koepfer 6-2, 6-3, for a place in the final.