Kei Nishikori beats Lloyd Harris in straight sets, advances to first ATP semi-final in two years at Citi Open

Washington: Japan's Kei Nishikori advanced to his first ATP semi-final in more than two years by defeating South Africa's 50th-ranked Lloyd Harris 6-3, 7-5 on Friday at the Citi Open.Nishikori had lost six consecutive tour-level quarter-finals, including one to Harris in March at Dubai, but this time dispatched the 24-year-old, who defeated Rafael Nadal on Thursday."Every match I've been playing well but especially today, I played very good," Nishikori said."This feeling, I hope I can carry couple more weeks until US Open. This makes me great confidence. I hope I can keep going two more matches."World number 67 Nishikori will face 107th-ranked Mackenzie McDonald, who eliminated fellow American Denis Kudla 6-3, 6-2, for a berth in Sunday's final on the Washington hardcourts.Saturday's other semi-final will send 20-year-old American wildcard Jenson Brooksby against 24th-ranked Italian 19-year-old Jannik Sinner.Nishikori, the 2015 Washington champion, arrived after a Tokyo Olympic quarter-final loss to top-ranked Novak Djokovic and battled jet lag when the week began."I was tired coming from Japan. It wasn't easy," Nishikori said. "But I got a couple days' rest and I managed to fight through the first couple rounds."I've been serving well this week. I make a good rhythm with my serve and that makes a huge difference."Now the 31-year-old Japanese star, the 2014 US Open runner-up, will play in his first semi-final since April 2019 at Barcelona.Nishikori could reach his first ATP final since taking the most recent of his 12 career titles in January 2019 at Brisbane.Harris ousted 20-time Grand Slam champion Nadal in the Spaniard's second comeback match after a two-month layoff with a foot injury.Harris double-faulted away a break in the opening game and Nishikori broke again on his way to a 4-0 lead and claimed the set after 45 minutes.In a back-and-forth final set, Harris saved match points with an ace and service winner but misfired on a Nishikori's third match point to fall."I started almost too good at the beginning," Nishikori said. "Things got tight after that. Second set was up and down. I saved well with good serve. It could go both ways but I took some chances and very happy with how I played the last game."McDonald, seeking his first ATP final, reached his only prior semi-final in 2019 at Delray Beach.Murray enjoys BrooksbySinner ousted American Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-2, to become Washington's first Italian semi-finalist in 25 years. He could become the first Italian finalist in the event's 52-year history.Sinner, a 2020 French Open quarter-finalist, seeks his third ATP title after Sofia last November and Melbourne in January. But first he must get past Brooksby, who hasn't dropped a set all week."He's a very tricky player," Sinner said. "He's maybe in the best moment of his young career, playing the best tennis. He's really, really in confidence."Brooksby, ranked 130th, became the lowest-ranked Washington semi-finalist since 416th-rated John Isner in 2007 by routing Australian 11th seed John Millman 6-1, 6-2.British three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray tweeted that "Brooksby is the sort of player I love to watch…lots of variety..high tennis IQ….great in defence..""That's great words to hear from Andy," Brooksby said. "He has been one of the best in the sport and a great guy to look up to. That means a lot."Brooksby, runner-up last month at Newport in his first ATP final, ousted Canada's 15th-ranked Felix Auger-Aliassime on Thursday for his first victory over a top-50 foe.