Nishikori Withdraws From Washington

Kei Nishikori withdrew from the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Tuesday due to a left knee injury. The Japanese star was replaced in the draw by Sho Shimabukuro, who will face South African Lloyd Harris.

The 33-year-old returned from a 20-month absence in June, when he won an ATP Challenger Tour title in Puerto Rico. He won eight of his 10 Challenger-level matches before returning to ATP Tour action last week in Atlanta.

The former World No. 4 showed his good form at the Atlanta Open, an ATP 250 event, where he made the quarter-finals with straight-sets victories over Jordan Thompson and Shang Juncheng. 

Nishikori owns an 18-7 record in Washington, where he won the title in 2015 and has reached two additional semi-finals. His most recent appearance in Washington came in 2021.