James Duckworth loses to Asian No. 1 Kei Nishikori at Citi Open

Australian James Duckworth lost to Kei Nishikori at the 2015 Citi Open in Washington on Wednesday. Duckworth is the second Australian to bow out of the Washington hardcourt event after qualifier John-Patrick Smith was ousted in the first round by fellow compatriot, two-time grand slam champion Lleyton Hewitt.

The Australian rallied to beat the Asian No. 1 on a tiebreak in the first set. However, second seed Nishikori, who had been awarded a bye into the second round, was determined to build momentum at the Washington hard court event en route to this year’s last major at the US Open.

Nishikori found his rhythm in the second set. He had less unforced errors and won 100 percent of his first service points. In the third set, Nishikori continued to play more aggressive and eventually clinched the victory in the match that lasted two hours and 19 minutes.

In other matches, Sam Groth moved on to the third round after securing victory over ninth seed Viktor Troicki in straight sets 6-3 6-4. Groth will face Feliciano Lopez in the third round, who defeated Lleyton Hewitt 4-6 7-5 6-3. Eleventh seed Bernard Tomic will play unseeded Steve Johnson for a place in the next round.

Meanwhile, Nishikori has inked a deal with Procter & Gamble (P&G), reported Sports Pro Media. The 25-year-old Japanese tennis star will be Japan’s ambassador for P&G’s “Proud Sponsor of Moms” campaign. He will reportedly appear in various television and digital commercials as well as online films.

Nishikori said that he is “honoured” to become part of such movement. Having left his mother at the age of 14 to move to the U.S., Nishikori said that he felt his mother’s support in “every way possible.” He said he is happy to be able to put across his appreciation of his mother’s support through the campaign.

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