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Friday August 21, 2009

Nishikori blow to Malaysian Open tennis

KUALA LUMPUR: Japanese teen sensation Kei Nishikori may have to skip the inaugural Malaysian Open tennis championship at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from Sept 26-Oct 4.

The 20-year-old, who won his first ATP title – the Delray Beach International in the United States – last year, is recuperating from a minor surgery to his right elbow.

Should he recover in time, Nishikori could still feature in the Malaysian Open via a wildcard entry.

Tournament director Nick Freyer said yesterday that Nishikori’s appearance would depend on his recovery.

“I would say the probability of him featuring (in the Malaysian Open) is 50-50.

“If he heals quickly, then we might be able to include him as a wildcard,” Freyer said after unveiling the complete entry list for the tournament, which carries a total prize money of US$947,750.

Meanwhile, world No. 38 Richard Gasquet of France is among the big names who will be heading for our shores next month.

Other notable names in the tournament are world top 20 players Nikolay Davydenko, Fernando Verdasco, Robin Soderling, Fernando Gonzalez, Gael Monfils and former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt.

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