Kei Nishikori’s chances of capturing the title at the Citi Open in Washington increased dramatically after tournament favorite Andy Murray was upset in his opening match. As the new favorite, the second seed did not disappoint. He played a clean match to take down 35th ranked Leonardo Mayer in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
Nishikori surprisingly sported bright, yellow shoes from Adidas, complementing his dark blue and white kit from his sponsor UNIQLO. He claims that they are the shoes to be worn at the US Open this year.
“I’m happy with the shoes, especially I love the color. It’s actually for the US Open but I’m just going to use them before.”
The world number five was stunned during his press conference when asked about reports in the Japanese media about his girlfriend’s rumored pregnancy. Nishikori assured that he was not to be a father anytime soon.
“I hope one day, but not yet.”
Nishikori faces Australian Sam Groth in the quarterfinals, the two have never played before. The Japanese star admits that he will need to do some research on the 62nd ranked 26-year-old.
“I actually have to check a little bit tonight. I’ve never played him before. I’ve seen him play, I know he has a big serve, first serve and second serve. It’s never easy to play big servers. I just need to focus on my serve and take the small chances.”
The second seed also admitted to having tried the local Japanese cuisine in Washington D.C. He was not too pleased.
“I tried a couple Japanese restaurants, but it wasn’t really ‘real’ Japanese food.”
It was a day of upsets at the Citi Open, with fourth-seeded Richard Gasquet crashing out to young American Jack Sock in three sets. Seventh-seeded Feliciano Lopez fell to unseeded Australian Sam Groth, 6-3, 6-4.