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Nishikori claims his leg is alright

The Japanese forfeited the last two tournaments and didn't play since Wimbledon. He claims the injury is a thing of the past. Duckworth is playing the best season of his career, but the healthy Nishikori is the huge favorite.

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Duckworth didn't play since Wimbledon, but this season is the best one in his career. The Australian showed at the very start that this is going to be his year and in the introductory two tournaments he reached two ATP wins. Later he played well on the challenger level and by mixing such tournaments and the ATP level, Duckworth is proudly the part of the Top 100.

Besides, he had reason to be optimistic upon arriving to Washington because he played excellent tennis on hardcourt. The transition was supposed to be made, but judging by his match against Harrison in the first round, he didn't have any problem with the transition. He earned to win in a match he controlled the whole time.

The first set brought him an express lead of 5-0. Harrison took a single game and it was clear that the Australian is more concrete. Even though he could have played a tie-break in the second set, Duckworth had a 4-2 lead and he could have ended the set more smoothly. Even though he as in a tie-break, James still won. Harrison's tie-break was desperate and he won only two out of the introductory eight points and the match slipped out of his hands. He had problems with blisters on his right foot and asked for help, but that wasn't the reason for his defeat Duckworth was the better player, he played with a lot of variations and attacked the American's weak backhand, thus reaching his ninth ATP win of the season.

Nishokori only once this season got knocked out before the quarter-finals. The Japanese is very consistent and he's not Top 5 for nothing. He beat the best. Last year he played Grand Slam finals, and result-wise he is pleased with what he has done this year.

- Mentally I'm stronger than before. I beat Novak, Stan, all Top 10 boys. I believe more in myself. I hope I will be able to play good tennis in the next couple of weeks before US Open - said Kei and added:

- My tennis is heading into the right direction. I feel stronger and with more confidence. I'm looking forward to upcoming tournaments.

Yes, Nishikori plays great. However, he forfeited his matches in the last two tournaments. Those problems with injuries are his main flaw. Once he said that he hurt himself because he has to work a lot more than physically superior players. He forfeited his last tournament in Wimbledon before the start in the second round against Giraldi. Everything after new drama against Bolelli in the first round.

- I feel pretty good, I had excellent preparations for Washington for about three weeks. I took one week off after Wimbledon and my leg was good after that - explained the Japanese.

If the leg is good, as he says, then Kei is one of the main favorites for the title here. If we don't count Wimbledon where he was injured, Nishikori only once remained without quarter-finals on a tournament. That's no coincidence.