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Former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori admitted he was caught a bit off guard by the level of world No. 107 Mackenzie McDonald. Nishikori, now ranked at No. 67 in the world, entered the match as the favorite against McDonald but he ended up losing in three tight sets.
McDonald, who idolised Nishikori while growing up, beat the Japanese 6-4 3-6 7-5 in the Washington semifinal. "He played much better than expected, think he played at his best, that's kinda beyond expectations. Think I was not so bad in the deciding set, but his level never dropped, it was more of him playing great rather than my playing bad," Nishikori said, per Seiadoumogera/Twitter.
Nishikori revealed that he was struggling with his shoulder and that was the main reason why he dropped his serve many times during the match. Nishikori lost his serve five times during the match and he paid the price in the end for it.
"My legs were fine, but my shoulder was a bit... I've had a bit of pain on my shoulder ant didn't increase the speed of my serve. Had a hard time holding my service games, didn't get many free points on my serve nor make first serve in at important moments.
That's something I was struggling with today while his return was really great. Wish I could have made more first serves in," Nishkori noted.
Nishikori might skip the Toronto Masters
The week before Washington, Nishikori played at the Tokyo Olympics.
Nishikori ended up making the quarterfinal in Tokyo, before losing to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. Upon arriving to Washington, Nishikori admitted he was tired. Still Nishikori managed to make the semifinal in Washington. "I don't know if I play Toronto at the moment," Nishikori revealed.
If Nishikori decides to play at the Toronto Masters, he will face rising Serbian star Miomir Kecmanovic in the final.