Kei Nishikori made his competitive comeback Tuesday after a five-month injury layoff, only to have a disappointing loss to a qualifier in the first round of an ATP Challenger Tour event.
Nishikori, who was sidelined in August with a season-ending right wrist injury, went down to American Dennis Novikov 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in their match at the Newport Beach tournament, a $150,000 second-tier event.
It was the second time the two players faced each other, Nishikori having beaten the 238th-ranked Novikov in straight sets in their last meeting at the Rogers Cup in Toronto in 2016.